Judge weighs if N. Carolina man wrongly convicted of murders

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Judge weighs if N. Carolina man wrongly convicted of murders

Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press

Updated 3:43 pm, Monday, August 29, 2016

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man was wrongly convicted of killing a woman and her daughter two decades ago in part because jurors didn't know about DNA evidence that implicated another man, defense attorneys said Monday.

Lawyers for Darryl Howard, who has been in prison for 21 years, told a judge that he deserves a new trial because of new DNA evidence and misconduct by police and prosecutors, including ex-district attorney Mike Nifong, who was disbarred and jailed for his handling of the Duke University lacrosse case.

"In other words, based on these (DNA) results and based on the evidence presented at the original trial, would a reasonable juror have a reasonable doubt about Mr. Howard's guilt?" Jim Cooney, an attorney working with the Innocence Project, told the judge.

Prosecutors said witnesses who lived in the same housing project as the victims placed Howard at the scene of crimes around the time they happened. Howard was convicted of strangling Doris Washington, 29, and her 13-year-old daughter, Nishonda. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison in 1995.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Judge-weighs-if-N-Carolina-man-wrongly-convicted-9190630.php

[neohippie]

1. If the police and prosecuters withheld evidence that they knew would prove his innocence

Those involved should be tried and jailed for knowingly railroading Darryl Howard