Post by CCADP on Aug 18, 2005 18:36:43 GMT -5
Appeals court weighs call for retrial in Tipton slaying
A state appeals court deciding whether to order a retrial of Daniel Wade
Moore, once sentenced to death in the slaying of a psychiatrist's wife in
Decatur, heard defense claims of destroyed or withheld evidence.
Moore, 31, remained in the Morgan County jail as his lawyers and
prosecutors from the attorney general's office argued Tuesday before the
Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals.
State prosecutors said the evidence from Moore's first trial has been
preserved.
"The only remedy in this case is a new trial," said Assistant Attorney
General Corey Maze.
Moore is accused of killing Karen Tipton in 1999 in Tipton's home during a
sexual assault.
At his 1st trial, a jury convicted Moore of capital murder. Morgan County
Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson sentenced him to death, but Thompson later
dismissed the capital murder charge, saying the state prosecutor and a
Decatur police sergeant had withheld evidence at trial that would have
aided the defense.
During Tuesday's hearing, defense attorneys focused on missing evidence,
which they said includes a computer hard drive with pornographic images on
it and sex toys. But Maze said the defense wants to make the victim look
bad.
"All they're doing is slandering her name in the newspaper," Maze said.
"Those had nothing to do with the case. We don't have a box of sex toys we
didn't give them."
But defense attorney Tim Kyle disputed the accusation.
"It's not slander, it's fact," Kyle told the 5 judges.
Maze said the prosecution has not withheld or destroyed evidence.
In successfully getting Thompson to dismiss the capital murder charge,
Moore's lawyers said the prosecution withheld 245 pages of files from the
FBI without turning them over to the defense. Prosecutors denied doing
anything improper.
"If this appeared in a law school exam, no one would believe it could
happen," said Kyle, who joined Sherman Powell, Moore's trial attorney, for
the hearing.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals earlier ordered Moore held in the
Morgan County Jail until the court decides if he should be retried.
Appeals Judge Sue Bell Cobb asked several questions of both sides and
called Thompson a "really courageous trial judge."
While the lawyers discussed what was just in the face of alleged
misconduct by the prosecution, Cobb said, "We don't expect perfection, but
we expect it to be fair."
The court has given no indication when it will rule on a retrial.
(source: The Huntsville Times)
A state appeals court deciding whether to order a retrial of Daniel Wade
Moore, once sentenced to death in the slaying of a psychiatrist's wife in
Decatur, heard defense claims of destroyed or withheld evidence.
Moore, 31, remained in the Morgan County jail as his lawyers and
prosecutors from the attorney general's office argued Tuesday before the
Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals.
State prosecutors said the evidence from Moore's first trial has been
preserved.
"The only remedy in this case is a new trial," said Assistant Attorney
General Corey Maze.
Moore is accused of killing Karen Tipton in 1999 in Tipton's home during a
sexual assault.
At his 1st trial, a jury convicted Moore of capital murder. Morgan County
Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson sentenced him to death, but Thompson later
dismissed the capital murder charge, saying the state prosecutor and a
Decatur police sergeant had withheld evidence at trial that would have
aided the defense.
During Tuesday's hearing, defense attorneys focused on missing evidence,
which they said includes a computer hard drive with pornographic images on
it and sex toys. But Maze said the defense wants to make the victim look
bad.
"All they're doing is slandering her name in the newspaper," Maze said.
"Those had nothing to do with the case. We don't have a box of sex toys we
didn't give them."
But defense attorney Tim Kyle disputed the accusation.
"It's not slander, it's fact," Kyle told the 5 judges.
Maze said the prosecution has not withheld or destroyed evidence.
In successfully getting Thompson to dismiss the capital murder charge,
Moore's lawyers said the prosecution withheld 245 pages of files from the
FBI without turning them over to the defense. Prosecutors denied doing
anything improper.
"If this appeared in a law school exam, no one would believe it could
happen," said Kyle, who joined Sherman Powell, Moore's trial attorney, for
the hearing.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals earlier ordered Moore held in the
Morgan County Jail until the court decides if he should be retried.
Appeals Judge Sue Bell Cobb asked several questions of both sides and
called Thompson a "really courageous trial judge."
While the lawyers discussed what was just in the face of alleged
misconduct by the prosecution, Cobb said, "We don't expect perfection, but
we expect it to be fair."
The court has given no indication when it will rule on a retrial.
(source: The Huntsville Times)