An attorney for a convicted Michigan murderer will seek a new trial — the first challenge involving Detroit’s beleaguered firearms laboratory since rampant errors surfaced in April, reports the Detroit News. Edward Hill, 40, of Detroit, was convicted last year and is serving up to 80 years after a police officer testified his .38 Special killed a store customer in 2006. Prosecutors acknowledge the gun couldn’t have been used in the murder.
“It was fraudulent testimony,” said Gerald Lorence, Hill’s attorney. “Of all the witnesses who were called by the prosecution, not one of them testified to seeing my client fire a weapon.” The appeal comes a week after the Michigan State Police released a damning audit showing Detroit’s gun lab had a 10 percent error rate. The lab was closed in September after an audit that reached similar conclusions. The controversy erupted in April when a defense attorney found discrepancies in firearms evidence that suggested police gave faulty testimony. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy ordered a review of five years’ worth of cases that hinged on evidence from the gun lab.
Link: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081106/METRO/811060387/1409/METRO