LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Las Vegas judge has overturned the 2007 murder conviction of a man sentenced to prison for life.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (https://bit.ly/2qIZ5XW ) the Clark County District Attorney Office announced last week that it intends retry the case against Jemar Matthews.
U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro ruled in March that the prosecutor in Matthews’ original trial made improper comments that stripped Matthews from his right to fair trial. The report says the lawyer kept making references to Matthews and other suspects’ looks -all who were black men.
The ruling allowed Mathews to challenge his convictions in a federal habeas corpus petition.
Mathews was charged with murder in 2007 and has insisted that he is innocent. Navarro wrote in her decision that there is little evidence linking Mathews to the crime.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, https://www.lvrj.com
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