The Louisiana Supreme Court has overturned the second degree murder conviction of US hip hop star C-Murder, real name Corey Miller. As previously reported, the rapper was imprisoned for the 2002 shooting of sixteen year old Steven Thomas outside the Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana, after several witnesses came forward to identify Miller as the shooter.
Convicted in September 2003 after entering a plea of not guilty, Miller appealed the verdict, and at a subsequent hearing, a woman testified to the effect that she did not see Miller shoot the victim. She also confirmed that she had witnessed another man, known as Calliope Slim, brandishing a firearm moments before the shooting, information which she claims she told investigating officers before the original case came to court, but which was never mentioned during the trial. It was also revealed that detectives had cleared parking tickets and a felony theft arrest warrant in exchange for a testimony.
A retrial was ordered in 2004, a decision subsequently successfully appealed by the case's prosecutors. Last month Miller filed a request to the Louisiana Supreme Court and a new trial has been granted. Whether the prosecution will in fact attempt to retry the rapper on that charge of second degree murder remains to be seen.