Credit: PA Department of Corrections
A man convicted for the 1990 murder of a Bristol Township woman is seeking clemency.
On Thursday afternoon, John Brookins, 56, will come before the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons for a hearing on his petition for clemency.
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Brookins, who is from Bristol Township, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the December 20, 1990 murder of Sheila Ginsberg, 58, in her Bristol Township apartment off Bath Road. She was stabbed to death with scissors and found by her son who flew in from Florida hours later.
“I am an innocent man who has been wrongly accused of the homicide of Sheila Irene Ginsberg. I sit imprisoned for this crime when the known perpetrator openly bragged about committing this horrible act. I have been imprisoned for over 20 years. The DA’s office and the detectives who investigated this case know all too well that I did not kill anyone,” Brookins said on a website calling for his release.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office “strongly opposes” Brookins’ application for clemency.
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Brookins has support for his release. A petition on Change.org has more than 8,100 signatures and there are two websites advocating for clemency.
According to BringBrookinsHome.com, Brookins is a certified yoga instructor behind bars and has helped maintain the prison nursery. Karen Pollard-Brookins, a childhood friend of Brookins, reconnected with him a few years back and they married in November 2018.
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Brookins has claimed that detectives acted improperly and planted evidence on him. An appeal said DNA testing could clear him of the murder, which he claims was carried out by Ginsberg’s daughter.
During a 1992 trial, detectives said a group of women interviewed did not indicate that they believed Ginsberg’s daughter killed her. However, one woman, who was a heavy drinker and used drugs, testified before a court that Ginsberg’s daughter told her she “killed her mother for drugs,” according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report from the time.
“We believe strongly in justice here in Bucks County,” Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in a statement. “Mr. Brookins’ petition to be absolved of his murderous conduct in the killing of Ms. Ginsberg would subvert justice. Mr. Brookins was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Ms. Ginsberg, by a jury of his peers and after offering a full defense.
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“There is no basis in law, or in fact, to absolve him of his guilt, or to let him go free. Just as he denied Ms. Ginsberg any mercy, his petition for clemency must be denied.”
Prosecutors have said Brookins has repeatedly lied about the murder.
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“I have lost out on sharing a number of memorable events with my family. I have faith that the following facts of my case will shed light on an egregiously corrupt justice system,” Brookins said on his website.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jill Graziano wrote in a letter to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons that Brookins has changed his story over the years. The letter noted that years after his conviction he began stating the victim’s daughter was behind the crime.
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Graziano wrote that Brookins’ fingerprints were found at the crime scene. One bloody fingerprint was reported to be found on the TV remote control near the victim’s body.
The district attorney’s office said evidence shows that Ginsberg’s wounds were unlikely to be caused by her daughter, who weighed between 80 to 90 pounds at the time.
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“The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office asks this Board not to be swayed by conjecture or the false specter of an innocent man in prison,” Graziano wrote. “John Brookins is not innocent, and he does not deserve clemency in the murder of Sheila Ginsberg.”
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