An emotional legal battle has reached the Ohio Supreme Court, with law professors and prosecutors debating whether a reckless driver who struck and killed a beloved Cleveland firefighter should be convicted of murder or manslaughter.

Today in Ohio podcast posts on Tuesday laid out why they argue the prosecutors seriously overreached and played on community anger to win a murder conviction, agreeing with appellate court justices who ruled that conviction invalid.

The case of Leander Bissell, who was convicted of murder in the death of Cleveland firefighter Johnny Tetrick at an accident scene on I-90, has become a flashpoint in how Ohio defines criminal culpability.

On one side, prosecutors and groups including the Ohio Attorney General’s Office argue the murder conviction should stand.

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