BALTIMORE, Md. (WJZ) — A Baltimore man was freed Wednesday after spending practically 17 years in jail for a homicide he didn’t commit, Baltimore Metropolis State’s Legal professional Marilyn Mosby mentioned.
David Morris was sentenced to life in jail with all however 50 years suspended after he was convicted within the 2004 homicide of Mustafa Carter. In 2018, the State’s Legal professional’s Conviction Integrity Unit took a more in-depth have a look at the case in response to issues from the Innocence Undertaking. The CIU’s assessment discovered exculpatory proof was found earlier than Morris’ trial however by no means disclosed.
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In a press release, Mosby mentioned Morris’ case is an instance of the “deeply damaging nature of the historic failures of the prison justice system” and her company’s obligation to proper earlier wrongs.
“On behalf of the State, let me prolong my sincerest apologies to Mr. Morris and his household for the unspeakable trauma inflicted upon him on account of this wrongful conviction,” Mosby mentioned. “To the household of Mr. Carter, we’ll proceed to make use of every thing our arsenal to search out your son’s killers.”
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In keeping with the State’s Legal professional’s Workplace, investigators recognized one other suspect within the case, however that info wasn’t offered to Morris’ protection. A number of different components – together with DNA proof taken from Carter’s pants that may have dominated out Morris as a suspect and contradictory info from the only witness – indicated “Morris was not concerned,” the company mentioned partially.
Apart from the proof, the CIU assessment decided the arresting officer had been accused of misconduct, which Mosby’s workplace mentioned ought to have been disclosed to Morris’ protection attorneys. The officer, Michael Nelson, was among those published in Mosby’s “Do Not Call” list of officers with credibility points.
Michele Nethercott, an lawyer for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Undertaking and the previous director of the College of Baltimore Innocence Undertaking Clinic, mentioned the group was gratified with the end result.
“The proof at (Morris’) trial was extremely weak and our post-conviction investigation unearthed much more proof supporting his longstanding declare of innocence,” Nethercott mentioned. “We’re grateful to Mr. Carter’s household for helping within the investigation regardless of the ache it will need to have triggered.”
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In 2015, Mosby overhauled the CIU, Maryland’s first such unit, tasking prosecutors with wanting into claims of precise innocence and wrongful convictions. Since then, the CIU has exonerated a complete of 11 people who served a mixed 280 years behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit.
