The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving a notorious 1984 murder in Washington, D.C. The key issue involves whether prosecutors failed to turn over favorable evidence to the seven defendants, NPR reports. For decades, the men imprisoned for killing Catherine Fuller have argued that they’re the victims of prosecutor misconduct. The justices will consider whether the convictions must be set aside because the government failed to turn over evidence that someone else may have done it.
Police never found physical evidence linking the defendants to the crime scene. The government allegedly never disclosed to the defense that they had three eyewitnesses who saw another defendant who was not charged leaving the crime scene right around the time that the body was found. That defendant had a history of violent attacks against women in the area. He’s serving life for another crime. Prosecutors defend the verdict, however. In recent years, the justices have returned to the issue of lapses by prosecutors again and again. One prominent federal appeals court judge has declared there’s an epidemic of violations by the government, but many current and former Justice Department officials don’t buy it.