In a recent development in the legal saga of Corey Miller, also known as C-Murder, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has denied his most recent attempt to appeal his second-degree murder conviction.
The charge has been a focal point of legal battles and appeals for years. The legal saga is related to a club shooting in 2002 when 16-year-old Steve Thomas was shot and killed inside a Harvey, Lousiana nightclub.
C-Murder has vehemently maintained his innocence throughout two trials and subsequent appeals, claiming that he was wrongly convicted.
One key aspect of his appeal was the assertion that he was innocent of the crime he was convicted of in 2009.
Additionally, C-Murder argued that his due process rights were violated during the trial, pointing to issues such as a juror allegedly voting to convict to expedite jury deliberations.
Another significant part of the appeal focused on the prosecution’s alleged failure to disclose exculpatory evidence and the use of false testimony without a proper evidentiary hearing.
He also relied on the recantations of two key witnesses, Darnell Jordan and Kenneth Jordan, to be “suspect and not reliable” due to contradictions and falsities in their affidavits.
C-Murder filed his most recent appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on November 14, 2023, following the denial of his habeas corpus petition by U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance.
Unfortunately for C-Murder, a trio of Circuit Judges with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Vance’s 2023 ruling.
Despite his efforts to secure a Certificate of Appealability (COA) by demonstrating a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, the court found his arguments insufficient to meet this standard.
“To satisfy this standard, the petitioner must demonstrate ‘that jurists of reason could disagree with the district court’s resolution of his constitutional claims or that jurists could conclude the issues presented are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.’ Miller has not made such a showing. Accordingly, his motion for a COA is DENIED,” the judges ruled.
The rap star’s legal battle, marked by multiple appeals and challenges, has reached a significant juncture with the denial of his recent appeal.
C-Murder had the powerful backing of aspiring lawyer Kim Kardashian, who helped secure the freedom of Alice Marie Johnson in 2020.
I wanted to shed some light on a case that I’ve been working on for years…
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) August 3, 2023
Corey Miller has spent 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and his conviction is based entirely on the testimony of two men, whom the State dragged to trial just on material witness…
In August of 2023, Kim Kardashian revealed she was “working” on his case because she believed he was innocent.
“Corey Miller deserves a day in court to test the veracity of the recanted statements and to prove that he did not shoot Steve Thomas,” Kim Kardashian said.
However, Kardashian has reportedly put her pursuit of a legal career on hold as she focuses on her businesses and her four children with rapper Kanye West.