The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is gratified by the nearly unanimous vote of the Board of Pardons denying John Brookins’ petition for clemency for his brutal murder of Sheila Ginsberg. The evidence, the law, logic and plain common sense dictated that this result was the only reasonable and just one for the Board to reach. Despite Mr. Brookins’ failed attempt to distract the Board from doing its job, we and the victim’s family are grateful and relieved that it was not so persuaded. 

Mr. Brookins continues to deny responsibility for killing Sheila Ginsburg, and instead attempted to distract the Board with a claim of innocence based in large part on untested DNA evidence on the scissors he used to commit the murder. This is intentionally misleading. 

Simply put, any result of DNA testing of the scissors used to murder Ms. Ginsberg will in no way diminish the overwhelming evidence of Mr. Brookins’ guilt of this heinous crime, and would not prove his innocence. Even if Mr. Brookins’ DNA were not found on the scissors, there are various common-sense explanations for lack of DNA that do not prove his innocence. These include elimination of his DNA from the item either intentionally by him to avoid detection, or unwittingly by another person later handling the scissors, such as when the medical examiner pulled the scissors from Ms. Ginsberg’s body; or due to simple degradation of the DNA due to the passage of time.

John Brookins’ guilt, which was based upon overwhelming evidence, found by a jury and reviewed by many courts on direct and collateral appeal, includes his fingerprints at the crime scene – including one on a tv remote control in the victim’s blood – and his many lies to police in the months after Ms. Ginsberg’s murder to cover-up his crime. DNA testing results will not change the strength of this evidence against him.

“The Board of Pardons is not the proper venue for Mr. Brookins to attempt to adjudicate guilt or innocence, the courts of law are,” said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, “And every court that has reviewed Mr. Brookins’ innocence claims over the past three decades, including his most recent request for DNA testing, has rejected his ever-changing claims. Our office remains unshaken in our confidence that John Brookins is guilty of the murder of which he was convicted, and that justice has again prevailed.”