'We have the right ones,' Chris Paul's mother says of Winston-Salem 5 in innocence hearing

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Day eight of hearings for the four men convicted of killing NBA star Chris Paul's grandfather are underway Wednesday. A three-judge panel must decide if they are innocent of the crime from 20 years ago.

Click here to see the previous day's proceedings.

Our Amber Lake has been in court for the proceedings. 

Closing Arguments: 

The prosecution said, "When you have six different stories, that isn't clear and convincing." 

Jennifer Martin, Assistant District Attorney, said a murder conviction can't be overturned based off Jessicah Black. Martin argued Black is "vulnerable, weak and was groomed over and over again." 

Martin said at the end of her closing argument, "I would ask that you uphold these verdicts and say that there is no clear and convincing evidence of innocence in 2022."

The defense argued that the "biggest piece of evidence is Jessicah Black's recantation." It continued, "Her testimony is the only thing that convicted these defendants." 

Attorney Brad Bannon said, "There's not a single piece of evidence that proves anything they said in those rooms was true. In fact, there are quite a few pieces of physical evidence that prove what they said in those rooms as confessions were false."

Testimonies: 

The state called attorney Thomas Fagerli to the stand. He represented Dorrell Brayboy years ago. 

• Fagerli said he advised Brayboy to not testify but he did anyway. "He testified horribly, and in my opinion, he convicted himself," Fagerli said.
• The Innocence Commission then started to cross-examine Fagerli. Fagerli said back during the trial, he and other lawyers went out to Jones' house and sat on a picnic table in the park, where Jessicah Black sat in 2002 when she said she heard the altercation the night of the murder. The home is out on Moravia Street in Winston-Salem, and he said they did an experiment to see if they could hear someone at Jones' house while sitting on the picnic table, and he said they could hear someone yell as clear as day. 
• The Commission questioned him saying if Black heard the altercation, then surely someone who lived next door to Jones would've heard it too. 
• "To this day, I think about that trial," Fagerli said. 
• "It was hard for me to argue that he didn't do it when his statement was so poor," Fagerli said about Brayboy's then testimony. 

Rhonda Harriston, formerly Rhonda Jones, testified. She is the daughter of Nathaniel Jones. 

• "My dad was a great man, an awesome man. And he would do anything for anybody," Harriston said. 
• "I got remarried in August of 2021 and my dad wasn't here to walk me down the aisle," she said. 
• "We have been in court from the first day that it started until today. We haven't missed a trial. Through everything we have seen, we are confident that we have the right people," Harriston said of the defendants. 

Robin Jones Paul is now testifying. She's the older daughter of Jones and the mother of Chris Paul. 

• "I honestly feel, and my sister honestly feels, we honestly feel we have the right ones, the right people were convicted who murdered my dad," Jones Paul said of the defendants. 

The judges took all the evidence they heard into advisory and should have a decision Thursday at 3 pm. 

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."