"IN A STATEMENT TUESDAY, GREG TAYLOR SAYS HE BEGGED AUTHORITIES FOR YEARS TO TEST HIS CLOTHING FOR THE DNA OF THE SLAIN WOMAN. HE ASKS WHY POLICE WAITED TO DO THE TESTING UNTIL AFTER A THREE-JUDGE PANEL DECLARED HIM INNOCENT LAST MONTH, THE STORY CONTINUES. IN A DIFFERENT LETTER, ATTORNEY CHRIS MUMMA RELUCTANTLY GRANTS PERMISSION FOR THE TESTING, SAYING TAYLOR WANTS TO REMOVE ANY DOUBT ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE CRIME."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND: Seventeen years ago, Taylor was convicted of the September, 1991 murder of Raleigh prostitute Jacquetta Thomas, 26, whose body was found dumped on South Blount Street in Raleigh. Taylor, 47, said he spent the night of September 25, 1991 drinking and doing drugs with friends while he drove around southeast Raleigh to buy crack cocaine. Taylor said he believed police latched on to him for the murder because he and a friend drove along a dirt path off the same cul-de-sac where Thomas's body was found. Taylor and the friend smoked crack, but his SUV got stuck as they tried to drive away. They abandoned the SUV and walked to a nearby street to get a ride. Taylor testified they saw what they thought was a body but didn't report it to police. When Taylor returned in the morning to get the SUV, the police were already there. During several days of testimony, a parade of witnesses poked holes in the original evidence against Taylor. A SBI agent testified that while initial tests on some items from Taylor's sport utility vehicle were positive for blood, follow-up tests were negative. Those negative tests were not revealed to the jury that convicted Taylor. A dog training expert testified that the bloodhound that investigators said found the scent of the victim on Taylor's SUV was not trained in scent identification. A jailhouse snitch who said that Taylor confessed his involvement in Thomas's killing to him stood by his original testimony, but did admit that Taylor got the method of killing wrong. Johnny Beck, the man who was in Taylor's SUV on the night of the murder, testified neither he nor Taylor were involved in Thomas's death. Taylor had exhausted his appeals, but the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission reviewed the evidence against him last year and recommended the case to the three judge panel for further review. The commission is the only state-run agency in the country that investigates claims of innocence. Now the Commission has declared him innocent - the first time an inmate has been freed through the actions of the state's Innocence Inquiry Commission.
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"RALEIGH (AP) — A North Carolina man exonerated of a prostitute's murder in a groundbreaking innocence hearing says he wonders if his fight will ever end since police now want to test his clothing for the victim's DNA," the Associated Press story published earlier today under the heading, "Police plan more tests in Greg Taylor case."
"In a statement Tuesday, Greg Taylor says he begged authorities for years to test his clothing for the DNA of the slain woman. He asks why police waited to do the testing until after a three-judge panel declared him innocent last month," the story continues.
"In a different letter, attorney Chris Mumma reluctantly grants permission for the testing, saying Taylor wants to remove any doubt about his role in the crime
A police spokesman declined to immediately comment.
Taylor spent more than 16 years in prison. His was the first exoneration for the state's Innocence Commission."
The story can be found at:
http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/03/16/article/lawyer_police_plan_more_tests_in_greg_taylor_case
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
