About Ha’im
Sharif was 19-years old when he was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse and sentenced to death in Clark County, Nevada. He was two-months shy of his 49th birthday when he was freed based on new evidence of innocence and prosecutorial misconduct.
The Investigation
In 1988, Ha’im Sharif (who then went by Charles Robins) was living with his girlfriend, Lovell McDowell, and her 11-month-old daughter. On the evening of April 17, 1988, McDowell woke to the sound of her child coughing and choking. She found Sharif holding the child and yelling at her to wake up. McDowell called 911 and then ran outside screaming that her baby had stopped breathing. An Air Force sergeant heard McDowell’s cries for help and performed CPR until paramedics showed up. When the child arrived at the hospital, she was pronounced dead.
The State medical examiner’s autopsy investigation revealed the child had several injuries, including to her right leg. Records indicated the leg was broken twice and was in the process of healing. The medical examiner opined that the child was battered, and concluded her death was a homicide. Ha’im was charged with murder and child abuse.
At trial, the State presented testimony from witnesses, including Haim’s girlfriend, who stated they saw him abuse the child during the period between February and March 1988. However, their testimony conflicted with other evidence showing the child was examined at least four times during this time frame by medical professionals, police officers, and child abuse investigators. None of the examinations revealed any visible signs of abuse. Additionally, most of the witnesses who testified they observed abuse did not see the child in the weeks preceding her death.
The State’s medical evidence formed the foundation of its case at trial. Based on the medical examiner’s testimony, the State argued that Ha’im physically abused the child, that her killing was premeditated and deliberate, and that the purported abuse amounted to torture making him eligible for the death penalty. In particular, the child’s broken leg played a significant role in the State’s argument to the jury for a first-degree murder conviction and a death sentence.
Ha’im was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse on December 16, 1988. He was sentenced to death on December 21, 1988. The conviction and death sentence were affirmed on appeal on September 19,1990.
Post-Conviction and Freedom
While in prison, Ha’im deepened his Muslim faith and took the name Ha’im Al Matin Sharif. The name was suggested to him by an aunt who introduced him to Islam as a child. In Arabic, Al Matin means “steadfast” and Sharif means “truthful and virtuous.” Ha’im is an Arabic variant of the Hebrew word chaim, which means “life.”
Ha’im’s life changed in 2012 when Cary Sandman, an Arizona federal defender, was appointed to his case. Sandman consulted two experts, Dr. Patrick Barnes, chief of pediatric neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center, and Dr. John Plunkett, a physician board-certified in anatomical, clinical and forensic pathology who had conducted more than 200 autopsies on children under the age of two. After reviewing the child’s medical records, Dr. Barnes and Dr. Plunkett concluded that she had died of an undiagnosed, untreated infantile scurvy, a disease caused by malnutrition that can cause broken bones and sores that will not heal. Both expert opinions explained how the child’s injuries were consistent with abnormalities found in children suffering from scurvy.
Sandman then tracked down Ha’im’s girlfriend, Lowell McDowell. She recanted her trial testimony and signed a sworn statement saying police and prosecutors forced her to testify falsely by threatening to take away her other children if she refused to lie. McDowell confirmed she never saw Ha’im abuse her daughter. She further stated that one of the other prosecution witnesses admitted he had falsely accused Ha’im of abuse in return for leniency in a pending drug case. Her brother, Otha McDowell, provided a sworn statement affirming that prosecutors advised McDowell how to craft her trial testimony against Ha’im.
In 2013, Ha’im filed a petition based on the new medical evidence showing the child had a disease which explained her injuries and death. He asserted that had trial counsel discovered and presented this evidence, the jury would not have convicted him of first-degree murder and child abuse or imposed death. He also claimed that his constitutional rights were violated when the State withheld exculpatory and impeachment evidence and failed to correct McDowell’s false testimony. Citing the compelling nature of the new medical evidence, the Nevada Supreme Court concluded that the evidence, if true, would show that it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted Ha’im. The Court noted that the new medical evidence also raised concerns about whether the State violated Sharif’s constitutional rights by withholding evidence and failing to correct false testimony. It remanded Ha’im’s case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing.
The evidentiary hearing did not take place. Instead, prosecutors offered Ha’im a plea deal. He could remain on death row waiting for a hearing on evidence that could lead to a new trial, or he could plead guilty to second-degree murder and be immediately released.
After 29 years on death row and at nearly 49 years-old, Ha’im accepted the deal. He walked out of death row on June 7, 2017. Ha’im settled in Longview, Washington, where he has relatives and he has lived there since obtaining his freedom.
Within weeks of his release, Ha’im was hired as a case manager at a housing shelter. He then worked at a youth shelter. Currently, Ha’im is the Vocational Training Coordinator at Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, where he teaches basic computer courses and career readiness.
Ha’im Sharif also serves as the Vice-President of the Washington Innocence Project Board of Directors.
*Based on the average annual per-person incarceration costs in Washington State as of May 2019. Does not include the financial cost of trial, appeals, community supervision, retrial, or related civil proceedings.
**Based on the average salary by age https://smartasset.com/retirement/the-average-salary-by-age; not including retirement or social security contributions.
WashIP is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Federal Tax ID No. 83-3498962
