Rapper C-Murder, real name Corey Miller, has been found guilty, for the second time, of second degree murder in relation to that 2002 shooting of a teenage fan. The verdict comes after dramatic scenes in the court, with the judge initially refusing to accept the jury's verdict.
Just three hours after both sides rested, the jury briefly deliberated before being sent home for the day. The next morning they returned a verdict of guilty, but were ordered to deliberate further by Judge Hans Liljeberg after it was revealed that they had been deadlocked immediately prior to reaching their decision. Judge Liljeberg said the verdict was invalid as it appeared that one of the jurors had changed their vote simply to end deliberations. He pointed out that jurors considering lesser charges usual take over eight hours to reach a verdict and told the juror in question to think whether her vote had been in good faith.
The invalid verdict caused Miller's lawyer Ron Rakosky to call for a mistrial for the second time during the trial, but his call was refused again. The jury left the court for another six hours before voting 10-2 in favour of a guilty verdict yesterday at around 1.30pm. Ten votes are the minimum required for a second degree murder conviction.
As previously reported many many times, Miller was accused of murdering 16 year old Steve Thomas at the now closed Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana in 2002. The teenager was shot through the heart while being beaten by a group of men at a rap concert. The rapper has always maintained his innocence, but was convicted of the crime in 2003. However, the conviction was overturned a year later when Judge Martha Sassone agreed that prosecutors had improperly withheld background information on three eyewitnesses.
In his closing statement on Monday, prosecutor Shannon Swain told the court: "If Steve Thomas were here today, he'd be 23. He'd want you to know C-Murder isn't his hero anymore. The last time he looked up to him was 12 Jan 2002. And the last time he looked up to him, he shot him".
Miller's lawyer said that two of the prosecution's thirteen witnesses had provided weak testimony, including the previously reported Kenneth Jordan who claimed to have seen Miller shoot Thomas, but had, under cross-examination, revealed that he had reached a plea deal to have a sexual offence charge dropped in exchange for his testimony.
Rakosky claimed that prosecutors had used "coercive tactics" to force Jordan to testify against his client, leading to his first call for a mistrial on Friday. The request was refused by Judge Hans Liljeberg, after which the prosecution rested its case.
Rakosky told the jury in his closing statement:"These people didn't give you anything whatsoever that can help you tip the scale against Corey Miller".
After hearing the verdict in a silent courtroom (Liljeberg having said he would have anyone who so much as gasped when it was delivered arrested), Steve Thomas' father George told reporters outside: "I'm not rejoicing. I feel bad for family. But at least they can see him. What have we got but a gravesite and a photograph?"
Members of Miller's family refused to accept the verdict, with his sister Germaine claiming that the prosecutors in the case were corrupt. His aunt, Marie Miller said: "This isn't over. This verdict is wrong. We will not let this rest".
Rakowsky refused to comment, but prosecutor David Wolff pre-empted his next move, saying that the verdict would stand up on appeal: "The judge ran a very clean trial. Deliberating on a homicide case is difficult".
The judge himself responded to suggestions that he had put too much pressure on the jury to reach their verdict, saying: "I don't think I pressured them at all. I told them if they could not reach a verdict to let me know".
Miller must now serve a mandatory life sentence, pending any appeal. He is currently also awaiting sentencing on separate charges of attempted murder.