Sunday, May 25, 2008
Judge to allow dead witness's testimony
A Burleson County district judge ruled Wednesday that the transcribed testimony of a dead witness will be allowed in the retrial of Anthony Graves, whose capital murder conviction was overturned for prosecutorial misconduct.
The ruling by state District Judge Reva Towslee-Corbett allows transcripts of the 1994 testimony by co-defendant Robert Carter to be used in Graves' July 7 trial. Carter and Graves were convicted in separate trials in the 1992 slaying of a woman, her daughter and her four grandchildren in Somerville. The victims were shot, stabbed and beaten with a hammer before the house was set afire.
Carter testified that he and Graves were the killers, and his testimony was instrumental in convicting Graves. But moments before Carter's execution in 2000, he said he lied. Carter also recanted his trial testimony in a deposition. [Mark Godsey]
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Since the declarant cannot be cross-examined about his recantations, tne recantations should be admitted without foundation to impeach the recantations.
In New York the applicable cases appear to be:
People v. Delvalle, 248 A.D.2d 126 (1st Dept. 1998)
People v. Canady 186 A.D.2d 749 (2nd Dept. 1992)
People v. Conde 16 A.D.2d 327 (3rd Dept. 1962)
These cites are taken from People v. Jackson. Not Reported in N.Y.S.2d, 2002 WL 1798837
N.Y.Sup.,2002.
Posted by: AdrianLesher | May 25, 2008 9:35:30 PM