PICKAWAY COUNTY, OH (WCMH) – A murder for hire conviction is overturned due to a lack of wording in the original indictment.
A jury sentenced Tara Lambert to seven years in prison for one count of conspiracy to commit murder back in 2016.
She’s accused of trying to pay someone to murder her husband’s ex-wife. A judge sentenced her to seven years in prison, but after just a year, that conviction is overturned. Sam Shamansky told NBC4 he has filed a motion to get Lambert out of prison Thursday morning.
“Well look, the court of appeals reached the only decision required by law and was to reverse the single count of conviction. I’m hopeful that at this point she will be discharged and released from prison. Until such times as ever if she’s reindicted,” said Shamansky.
Shamansky said the prosecutor did not properly indict Lambert and left out a critical element to the defense when alleging Lambert committed conspiracy to commit murder.
NBC4 went to the Pickaway County Courthouse to request court records.
Inside it stated in part, “the indictment is fatally flawed for failure to allege a substantial overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy,”.
NBC4 reached out to the Pickaway County prosecutor for an interview, she wasn’t available. However, she said she’s disappointed, and will be taking the necessary steps from here. She also said that Lambert can be retried.
Shamansky said although he’s not surprised by the mistake, it should have been caught earlier.
“What I think is surprising is that her trial council didn’t review the indictment and dig this up prior to her being tried and imprisoned for a crime that was not a crime in Ohio,” said Shamansky.
Lambert has spent the last year in prison.