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Appeals Court Sets Shooter Free
posted (June 16, 2015)

23 year-old Deondray McKoy was serving a 12 year sentence after being convicted in November 2013 of attempting to murder Everald Gray. That's up until today when he successfully appealed his conviction and actually managed to convince the Justices of Appeal that he should be acquitted.

Viewers may remember that in his trial before Justice Troadio Gonzalez, the victim, Gray took the stand and recounted how he got shot. When it was time for him to identify the assailant, he told the court that he couldn't see the shooter clearly because light in front of his house kept flickering. He never did positively identify McKoy as the shooter in the trial. Also, during his testimony, he told the court that he didn't want to continue with the case. That forced the prosecutor to treat him as a hostile witness who was not cooperating with the case. Despite the turn of the events, and the fact that McKoy provided an alibi, the jury convicted him of the offense.

Well, the panel of Appeal Court Judges agreed that Mckoy's appeal should succeed on the ground that the identification evidence was poor. This, they further observed, was compounded by the judge's failure to give certain pertinent direction to the jury. So, the conviction and sentence were quashed, and the Court entered McKoy into a not-guilty verdict.

He was represented by attorney Simeon Sampson. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lyn Vidal, represented the respondent. Although Mckoy was acquitted, he was not freed because he is awaiting a verdict for another charge of attempted murder.

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