
In 1976, a North
Carolina jury convicted Charles Finch of first-degree murder of a gas station owner in a robber-gone-wrong. The state presented no physical evidence implicating
Mr. Finch in the crime but rather relied on one eyewitness’s testimony and
identification of Mr. Finch as the shotgun shooter. Nearly 40
years later, in 2015, Mr. Finch filed a federal habeas petition presenting new
evidence in support of his wrongful conviction.
The new evidence includes expert testimony regarding the due-process violation stemming from an impermissibly suggestive lineup scheme, which—in addition to new evidence that the murder weapon was not a shotgun but rather a pistol—tainted the credibility of the state’s star eyewitness such that, as the Fourth Circuit held, a reasonable juror would likely doubt that witness’s pretrial (and in-court) identification of Mr. Finch, as well as his account of the events.
The new evidence includes expert testimony regarding the due-process violation stemming from an impermissibly suggestive lineup scheme, which—in addition to new evidence that the murder weapon was not a shotgun but rather a pistol—tainted the credibility of the state’s star eyewitness such that, as the Fourth Circuit held, a reasonable juror would likely doubt that witness’s pretrial (and in-court) identification of Mr. Finch, as well as his account of the events.
Despite this
convincing new evidence, the district court nevertheless dismissed the petition
as untimely under AEDPA. But, enter the Fourth Circuit to reverse after finding Mr. Finch sufficiently set forth new evidence that, under the totality of the circumstances,
would “likely fail to convince any reasonable juror of his guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.” In doing so, the Fourth Circuit has granted Mr. Finch—now 80—the
opportunity to challenge the veracity of his convictions and any miscarriages
of justice at a hearing on the merits of his claims.
And for curious readers, the recording of oral arguments before the Fourth Circuit can be found here.
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