by Michelle Sparrow | May 17, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
North Carolina’s Innocence Inquiry Commission was created to address inmates’ claims that they had been wrongfully convicted. While the commission’s process — if not its very existence — has come under fire, the media has highlighted... by Michelle Sparrow | May 12, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
A documentary about police interview procedures garnered new interest recently. The defendant in the case at the film’s center heard last month that his murder conviction was upheld by an appellate court. The case was not in North Carolina, but the subject of... by Michelle Sparrow | May 10, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
The Durham Superior Court judge who presided over a six-day hearing in December has issued his written order for a new trial in the Michael Peterson case. Peterson is now free on bond after eight years in prison. He was convicted of murder in a 2003 trial that... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 23, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act has done for one inmate just what it was designed to do: A 38-year-old African American inmate is no longer sentenced to death. Because a judge ruled that racial bias played a role in the trial and sentencing of the man, his... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 4, 2012 | Criminal Defense, Criminal Law Blog
The national media has been focusing its attention on the fatal shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin by a man who claimed self-defense. While many of the facts are disputed and the shooter has not yet been charged, much of the debate has surrounded “stand your...