Black man convicted of killing three adults and a baby may receive new trial
Lawyers for Dwayne Moore, a black man convicted of four killings, are fighting for a new trial.
Lawyers for a Black Boston man convicted of four killings are fighting for a new trial and just may get it after a drug dealing witness admitted he lied to get the man convicted.
Dwayne Moore, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the killing of a 2-year-old boy and three others, reports the Boston Globe.. The prosecution relied on their star witness, Kimani Washington, who was a drug dealing gang member. After reviewing cellphone records more closely and Washington’s testimony, Moore’s lawyers say that Washington actually lied and Moore was nowhere near the murders when they occurred.
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“This case is a classic example of the danger in building a first-degree murder case on the credibility of a professional criminal,” wrote Moore’s lawyers, Chauncey B. Wood and Eva G. Jellison in an 87-page motion prepared in an effort to seek a new trial for Moore. They contend that they have a slew of evidence that supports his innocence.
The “testimony provides further evidence that Kimani lied about Moore’s participation to save himself from a life sentence,” the lawyers wrote.
“It was a very painful case for the city of Boston,” said Michael Doolin, a Dorchester criminal defense attorney.
“But the litigation isn’t done once there is a guilty verdict that gets rendered. The defendant’s rights are paramount in that things often come out after trial that were not known at the time that may show justice wasn’t done.”
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The four killings are referred to as the Mattapan massacres in the small section of Boston where the shootings occurred in September 2010. The victims were Simba Martin, 21; Martin’s girlfriend, Eyanna Flonnery, 21; and her 2-year-old son, Amanihotep Smith as well as another man, Levaughn Washum-Garrison.
Washum-Garrison had been sleeping on Martin’s couch that night, when prosecutors said three men stormed his home in a drug deal gone bad. Three gunmen allegedly forced the four victims to march up Woolson Street and ordered the men to strip down. The gunmen robbed Martin, who was a drug dealer and took crack and cash from him. The 2-year-old was found cradled in his mother’s arms and survived for four hours before passing away.
Prosecutors must respond by June 18 to the defense motion. They still believe Moore is the killer.
“The entire [defense] motion is built on a tortured interpretation of the evidence and testimony,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “We fully expect it will be denied.”
