Trial hinges on dying man's gesture

CINCINNATI -- Paralyzed and hooked up to a ventilator, David Chandler was two weeks from death when police arrived at his hospital room to question him about the person who shot him. They wanted to know if he could identify a suspect, and they had a photo to show him.

Chandler was unable to communicate except with his eyes as he lay in bed, attached to myriad tubes and with a brace around his neck. His eyes opened barely more than a slit at times; he was instructed to blink three times for yes and twice for no. One detective quizzed him, and another videotaped his responses.

Chandler didn't respond with blinks to every question in the 17-minute video, and there were solo blinks. But triple blinks came in response to repeated questions asking if he knew the shooter and whether the person in the photo was the culprit.

An upcoming murder trial hinges on the videotape of those blinks, a rare effort by a prosecution to show a defendant has been identified by gesture: the nod of a head, squeeze of a hand, blink of an eye.

Legal experts say such cases raise concerns over reliability or differing interpretations of the movements. Challenges facing jurors include determining whether victims are fully aware of what is being asked and are in control of their actions.

Chandler, 35, was shot in the head and neck as he sat in a car early Oct. 28, 2010, in Cincinnati. He went into a coma and eventually died. The man authorities say he identified, Ricardo Woods, 34, is charged with murder, felonious assault and weapons counts and faces up to life in prison.

The defense suggests Chandler's condition and drugs used to treat him could have affected his ability to understand and respond. Woods' attorney, who tried to block the video evidence, insists the blinks are inconsistent and unreliable.

Prosecutors insist Chandler clearly identified Woods as the gunman.