WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Day seven of hearings for the four men convicted of killing NBA star Chris Paul's grandfather are underway Tuesday. A three-judge panel must decide if they are innocent of the crime from 20 years ago.
The judges will continue to hear from the defendants, who have maintained they were pressured by detectives into giving false confessions.
Our Amber Lake is in the courtroom on Tuesday. We'll share her latest details from the proceedings.
- Nathaniel Cauthen returned to the stand for cross-examination.
- Jennifer Martin, assistant district attorney, is asking Cauthen about any gang affiliation while incarcerated, as well as where his brother was the night of the murder.
- Rayshawn Banner takes the stand to testify.
- Banner said a plea deal was offered to him if he testified against the other men in the case and said no. Banner said he’s not testifying for something he didn’t do.
How we got here:
Paul's grandfather, 61-year-old Nathaniel Jones, was found beaten to death in the carport of his Winston-Salem home in November 2002 - one day after he'd seen his grandson commit to playing basketball for Wake Forest University.
Two years after the killing, brothers Rayshawn Banner and Nathaniel Cauthen were convicted of murder and robbery.
In 2005, police arrested three others.
All five were teenagers at the time of Jones' death, and all have stood by their innocence. They'd later be known as the 'Winston-Salem 5.'
One of the men convicted, Dorrell Brayboy, died in 2019. He was stabbed shortly after he was released from prison. His record could be expunged posthumously, but only if the four other defendants are found innocent.
In 2020, an eight-member panel of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission held a hearing to review the claims.
At that hearing, a key witness recanted her testimony, saying she lied in court because she was coerced by law enforcement.
The commission found sufficient evidence of innocence to have the case reviewed, and as a result, the exoneration hearings began Monday in Winston-Salem.
Who are the Winston-Salem 5 and where are they now?
- Brothers Nathaniel Cauthen and Rayshawn Banner are still incarcerated. Both were sentenced to life in prison. During the initial trial, they were found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
- Christopher Bryant and Jermal Tolliver spent 12 years in prison before being released in recent years. During the initial trial, they were found guilty of second-degree murder and common law robbery.
- Dorrell Brayboy died in a stabbing in 2019 following his release from prison.
Here's a recap of week one of the hearing:
- One of the defendants, Jermal Tolliver, testified and maintained his innocence. He said he lied to detectives back then, claiming he told them what he thought they wanted to hear.
- A key witness in the case, Jessicah Black, testified in the case and said she was coerced into giving a false statement. "It was just easier to tell them (police) what they wanted to hear," Jessicah Black said on the stand.
- The three-judge panel also heard from a shoe impressionist expert, who said evidence of a Nike Air Force One shoe print from the case was "misleading."