(Please note, this is an ongoing project/investigative work. Consider this article a rough culmination of my publishable findings thus far.)
In 2025, it is no longer a secret that there is something incorrect and deeply engrained within the justice system of America. Through the cases of those such as The Central Park Five or Steven Avery – individuals who were incarcerated and proven to be innocent – American society has begun to question what kind of gargantuan power our government holds over us. We are beginning to understand that the prison systems in America work as a conglomerative untamed knave, that feasts disproportionately upon the flesh of minority demographics. To understand that the judicial system is overseen by people who have no training in scientific practices that prove the innocence of so many falsely incarcerated individuals. We’ve even begun to question why studies consistently state the average rate of wrongful convictions in the US makes up 4-6% of all prison sentences, statistically making 1 in 20 prisoners innocent.
I was forced to question this reality from a very young age, when in 2010 my grandfather John Joseph DeSisti was falsely accused and wrongly imprisoned for the 2006 double homicide of his cousins: attorney David Keeffe, and his wife, Carol Keeffe. In the time that followed as my family awaited their right to a fair and speedy trial, the prosecution continuously made attempts to sabotage just that. Four years later, my grandfather finally succumbed to the unjust, brutal conditions of his imprisonment – before a jury could hear his case. By that point the damage done had inflicted irreparable wounds, alterations of life and character to my relatives that still bleed out to this day.
Injustice System is a photo essay that seeks to tell the consequences that can arise for people and their surrounding families entrapped within a false incarceration – and to give a voice to a family who was silenced by the American justice system.
John August DeSisti, son of John Joseph DeSisti, walks into his garage to light “the boiler” – a massive wood fueled furnace built to heat the entirety of his home. All of the wood harvesting and processing is done by John himself, even down to the handful of 16’ trailers he built to haul the finished product. Living a self-sufficient lifestyle such as this is something that has been passed down through every generation of his family, and it was the major talking point of the prosecution towards John J – as they claimed an avid outdoorsman, hunter, trapper, and fisherman is somebody very capable of murder.
As John A collects wood, his loyal Rhodesian Ridgebacks stick directly by his side. He lives a mostly quiet life in the woods on the New York/Pennsylvania border, just as most people here do. This is what makes the nature of his family’s story even more confusing, as Pennsylvania’s homicide laws were a large shock to the discreet civilians.
When anybody is charged with murder here there is no presumption of bail, which adds a great deal of contradiction to the old American phrase “innocent until proven guilty”. In John J’s case, it was particularly irrational. The accused was from a stable residence, had family in the area, and was never charged with a crime – all of the usual criteria for receiving bail in his state. However, he was swiftly denied that opportunity. Art Donato, John J’s defense attorney, stated that the judicial system demonstrated an “unusual hostility” towards his client (presumably due to the victims of the case being a part of that system), and were “not open minded to any possibility of innocence.”
The building on the right-hand side of this frame is the residence of Marylou Gates – the daughter of John J – and her husband Jock Gates. Of course, they too live self-sufficient lives whilst tucked away in the hilly confines of Waverly, NY, raising many animals such as black angus and turkey. On the left of the frame, where the sun is breaking through the clouds, is the area across the New York/Pennsylvania border known as Sayre Hill. This is where the residence of David and Carol once stood, and where their murders took place. It was torn down in the years following the crime by the couple’s family before a trial date could be set.
Jock and Marylou pose for a portrait holding an image that is one in a series that the daughter undertook during their very limited visitations. Marylou would have members of the family pose with John J for pictures in an attempt to have photographic evidence attesting to what effects the prison system was having on her father, as it dramatically accelerated the development of his pre-existing Alzheimer’s disease. This was a dire issue for the DeSisti family, as the trial process was dragging on incredibly slow. Such a delay is a normal occurrence for millions of people within this system, and a direct violation of the Sixth Amendment.
The lag time between just the preliminary hearing and the hearing on pre-trial motions took 8 months, and a jury selection wasn’t scheduled until April 23rd, 2012 – nearly one and a half years after the arrest. On the day of jury selection, the prosecutor made the accusation that the defendant was incompetent to stand trial – after having repeatedly claimed John J was simply “malingering” when the defense spoke during a previous competency hearing – citing word from prison guards that he was “drooling”. When this new claim of incompetence was made, it mandated that yet another competency hearing be scheduled, which in turn required that all 150 potential jurors go home – postponing the trial further. Upon review Donato stated John J was barely competent, as the bar for this is considered “pretty low”. However, he also mentioned that the state appointed psychologist, John Obrien, was a “hired gun” who made contradicting statements about John J’s competency throughout the rest of the process – further muddying the waters and slowing down any chances of proving his innocence. A total of 9 competency hearings were scheduled by the end of this ordeal, some cancelled and others moved.
Nancy DeSisti – widow to John J – reflecting on the horror that consumed her life,
“He did not do it. I know it in my heart…but it happened. And it ruined everybody’s life.”
Among the defense’s exculpatory evidence that was never heard by a jury is that of Nancy and her daughter Barbara DeSisti – who are adamant that the accused, and his vehicle, were home at the time of the murders.
Nancy expressed much gratitude for this project taking place, especially with the fact that our families have not kept in contact since the death of her husband – in light of the immense pain that had at this point altered each person involved.
Pictured is the entire DeSisti family in 2002 at the wedding of John A and Natalie DeSisti. This photo was obviously taken long before any atrocities had occurred and serves as a testament to how friendly the family once was with each other – a reminder of a more colorful life.
Each family member interviewed agreed: there were dramatic events which occurred between the siblings after the death of John J and they all led to a rift between the siblings – which causally can be traced back to the roots of trauma all parties had just suffered.
Jock gazes into the hedgerow behind his house, a reminder of past events where he recalls feeling uneasy on his own property – as if being watched by authorities. Marylou exchanged similar memories, “They sat at the bottom of my driveway. They came to my gym. Even after the third AG was fired from the case, he made the five-hour drive to my father’s hearing.”
This claim of intimidation and harassment adds another layer of mystery to this case, and is yet another piece of testimony that brings into question the nature of this system. Marylou and Jacques both stated that during the investigation, each member of their family was closely examined.
“You may think we’re crazy but I’m gonna tell you, be really careful what you’re saying – “
“Bradford County is very corrupt.”
“If you think they’re not going to come after you, you’re wrong.”
“The best thing is to stay away from them.”
Of the siblings interviewed, each states that the feelings of utter belittlement, confusion, and isolation were prominent.
“We were backed into a dark corner with nowhere to turn.” -John A
To add insult to injury, the local media outlets only piled onto what suffocating experience the DeSisti family was already enduring.
“We would wake up to our alarm clock playing the local morning radio, to messages booming of ‘John DeSisti, Murderer of Attorney and His Wife’ etc. It was in the newspapers, the local TV news, it was like waking up to a nightmare that swarmed around us wherever we went throughout the day.”
-Natalie DeSisti
Donato also acknowledged the damage local media had done to the defense’s case, “There’s a big difference between a headline that reads ‘John DeSisti Is Accused of Murder’ and one that reads ‘John DeSisti Killed Two People, DA Says’. It’s part of a much larger issue, when somebody is accused of a crime the media and public both automatically assume guilt.”
Among the bizarre and unknown procedures that occur after somebody dies in prison without a trial is the evidence return. Pictured here is a handgun bag that was given back to the DeSisti family after the death of John J.
Similarly to everything else the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania returned, a family heirloom is now marred with silver sharpie that will forever serve as a brutal reminder of the past.
Miscellaneous shotgun shells taken for evidence which were returned, and which will now most likely never be used.
A jacket marked with the same “evidence” mappings as before; John A believes this might’ve been the jacket his father was wearing when the police came to arrest him. It should be noted that he was in the woods checking his traps when they took him away, as the police who served the warrant used this situation in particular to try and paint John J as some sort of wild, unhinged criminal.
A pile of John A’s hunting clothes that sit largely unused today. After his father’s arrest his lifestyle of avid hunting slowed down, the interest and passion in that genre seeming to fade away.
After the death of John J a new question arose for the siblings – what do we do with all of this stuff? As an old man with many hobbies who made sure to not let anything go to waste, it can be implied that the distribution of his belongings was no easy task – and it served as a catalyst to part of the drama that keeps the siblings out of contact to this day. Pictured here are two pallets worth of tightly packed traps, scent lures, and other miscellaneous outdoor equipment; some of John J’s most prized possessions.
A closer look at some of the traps, a knot of once well-oiled and maintained equipment that now sits rusted and seized.
At the end of the day, the families of David and Carol are still without closure for a tragedy that shook their world to its core.
Now another family is cursed to yearn for the same. John J may have never been granted the privilege to prove his innocence by trial, however the behaviors of an incompetent justice system certainly do not prove any guilt.
“The way they treated him…he didn’t have a chance. Everything was screwed up from the beginning. As far as I’m concerned, they killed him.”
– Nancy DeSisti