"The Innocence Inquiry Commission, created by state lawmakers in 2006 over concerns about unjust convictions, ruled at the conclusion of a two-day hearing last month in Raleigh that there's enough new evidence that Kagonyera and Wilcoxson didn't murder Bowman to warrant the judicial hearing in Asheville.
Commission investigators detailed flaws in the cases against the suspects, including a confession by man who was never charged and DNA evidence linking another to Bowman's slaying."
REPORTER CLARKE MORRISON; CITIZEN-TIMES;
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"ASHEVILLE — The N.C. Supreme Court's chief justice has chosen the three-judge panel that will decide whether two local men were wrongly convicted of murder," the Citizen-Times story by reporter Clarke Morrison published on May 19, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Judges picked, date set for Asheville hearing on innocence claims
Innocence panel reopens local case."
"A court order filed this week set July 18 as the date for the rare proceeding to convene. Cases considered by the state Innocence Inquiry Commission have reached the judicial hearing stage just twice before," the story continues.
"Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2000 slaying of Walter Rodney Bowman, will be present for the hearing in the fifth-floor courtroom of the Buncombe County Courthouse.
The judges will hear evidence presented by defense attorneys and prosecutors. Under the state law that created the commission, the burden of proof will be on the defendants.
District Attorney Ron Moore said he and Assistant District Attorney Kate Dreher will prosecute the case. Moore said he couldn't comment on his approach to a pending case.
“We're in the process of preparing for it, and we'll move forward,” he said.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker assigned three Superior Court judges to the panel to consider the evidence: W. Erwin Spainhour, of Cabarrus County, Bradley Letts, of Haywood County, and Patrice Hinnant, of Guilford County. As the most senior of the three, Spainhour will direct the proceedings.
The Innocence Inquiry Commission, created by state lawmakers in 2006 over concerns about unjust convictions, ruled at the conclusion of a two-day hearing last month in Raleigh that there's enough new evidence that Kagonyera and Wilcoxson didn't murder Bowman to warrant the judicial hearing in Asheville.
Commission investigators detailed flaws in the cases against the suspects, including a confession by man who was never charged and DNA evidence linking another to Bowman's slaying.
Few cases heard
Of the more than 850 innocence claims submitted to the commission, this case was just the fourth to be heard by the eight-member panel, which includes a Superior Court judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, victim advocate and sheriff. Of the three previous cases, the commission directed two to be considered by a judicial panel.
(Page 2 of 2)
The first was the case of Henry Archie Reeves, convicted in 2001 in Pitt County of taking indecent liberties with a 6-year-old girl.
The three judges ruled in 2008 that his conviction would stand, saying he didn't prove his innocence by clear and convincing evidence.
Next was the case of Greg Taylor, a Cary man convicted of murdering a prostitute in 1990. The commission ruled there was enough new evidence to warrant a judicial hearing, and in February 2010 he was cleared. It's the only case considered by the commission where the defendant was exonerated.
The commission in 2009 considered the case of Terry Lee McNeil, who was convicted in 2001 of armed robbery and kidnapping in the holdup of a dry cleaner in Apex. But the panel concluded the case didn't merit judicial review.
Other suspects
Kagonyera, 30, and Wilcoxson, 31, are among five men convicted in the Sept. 18, 2000, slaying of Bowman, 51. Authorities said the suspects went to the victim's home on Church Road in Fairview to rob his son. One of the suspects fired a shotgun through a bedroom door, striking Bowman in the chest.
In depositions submitted to the innocence commission, Kagonyera and Wilcoxson maintained they had nothing to do with murder but pleaded guilty at the urging of prosecutors, their defense attorneys and family members who said they could get life in prison or the death penalty if convicted at trial.
The commissioners heard evidence that a federal convict named Robert Rutherford confessed to a drug agent in 2003 that it was he, Bradford Summey and Lacy Pickens III who invaded the home and killed Bowman.
And in 2007, Summey's DNA was matched to one of the bandanas believed to have been worn by Bowman's killers and discarded along a roadside near the crime scene.
The first was the case of Henry Archie Reeves, convicted in 2001 in Pitt County of taking indecent liberties with a 6-year-old girl.
The three judges ruled in 2008 that his conviction would stand, saying he didn't prove his innocence by clear and convincing evidence.
Next was the case of Greg Taylor, a Cary man convicted of murdering a prostitute in 1990. The commission ruled there was enough new evidence to warrant a judicial hearing, and in February 2010 he was cleared. It's the only case considered by the commission where the defendant was exonerated.
The commission in 2009 considered the case of Terry Lee McNeil, who was convicted in 2001 of armed robbery and kidnapping in the holdup of a dry cleaner in Apex. But the panel concluded the case didn't merit judicial review.
Other suspects
Kagonyera, 30, and Wilcoxson, 31, are among five men convicted in the Sept. 18, 2000, slaying of Bowman, 51. Authorities said the suspects went to the victim's home on Church Road in Fairview to rob his son. One of the suspects fired a shotgun through a bedroom door, striking Bowman in the chest.
In depositions submitted to the innocence commission, Kagonyera and Wilcoxson maintained they had nothing to do with murder but pleaded guilty at the urging of prosecutors, their defense attorneys and family members who said they could get life in prison or the death penalty if convicted at trial.
The commissioners heard evidence that a federal convict named Robert Rutherford confessed to a drug agent in 2003 that it was he, Bradford Summey and Lacy Pickens III who invaded the home and killed Bowman.
And in 2007, Summey's DNA was matched to one of the bandanas believed to have been worn by Bowman's killers and discarded along a roadside near the crime scene."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110520/NEWS/305200032/Murder-inquiry-judges-picked?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;