According to Associated Press, No Limit Record rapper C-Murder, born Corey Miller, has been denied a retrial in connection to his conviction for the murder of 16-year-old fan Steve Thomas at a nightclub.
Suggested Reading
Miller, the younger sibling of rapper Master P, is currently serving a life sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola after a jury voted 10-2 to connect him in August of 2009.
The denial comes after two eyewitnesses, Kenneth Jordan and Darnell Jordan, recanted their sworn testimonies. Jordan and Jordan share no relation.
In a sworn affidavit filed in New Orleansโ 24th Judicial District Court, Kenneth Jordan stated he knew that he knew โthe individual that I saw shoot the gun was not Corey Miller,โ according to records. Jordan also claimed that detectives pressured him to lie under oath, threatening him with criminal charges of his own.
Kenneth Jordanโs affidavit also states he saw another hooded man with a dark complexion shoot Thomas.
โHe was really their star witness at the second trial. Without him, him they donโt get a conviction,โ said Millerโs attorney Paul Barker.
In a handwritten letter filed with the district court a week after Kennethโs confession, Darnell told authorities he was โcertain that Corey Miller did not shoot Steve Thomas.โ Darnell said he had been tricked into testifying against Miller.
Thomas was beaten and shot in January of 2002 during an altercation outside of the now-closed Platinum Club.
According to New Orleansโ The Advocate, Judge Steven Enright ruled that last yearโs reactions failed to meet the burden of proof for post-conviction relief.
โA new trial should not be granted on the basis of a recantation,โ Enright wrote in his decision, โbecause it is tantamount to perjury so as to discredit the witness at a later trial.โ
According to Enright, Darnell, who was working as a security guard on the night of the shooting, told a detective he saw Miller shoot. Though his story changed in subsequent interviews with investigators, he ultimately returned to his initial account of the nightโs events.
โThis testimony goes against petitionerโs claim that Darnell Jordan was tricked into testifying as he did,โ Enright wrote.
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.