NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A New Jersey man sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 2017 fatal shooting of a man had his conviction overturned by a state appellate court this week.
The Superior Court of New Jersey decided Wednesday to overturn Akeeme Thompson's 2018 conviction for the murder of Pierre Collins arguing in its ruling that "errors committed during the trial had the probable effect of rendering the trial unfair."
Among the main issues that led to their determination, the court highlighted the decision by Newark Police Detective Murad Muhammad and other officers to charge him rather than first question him, as well as the trial judge's conclusion to allow Muhammad and another officer to narrate surveillance videos relating to the incident — despite having "no firsthand knowledge."
The court also noted the lack of physical evidence connecting Thompson to Collins' murder or any eyewitnesses present during the incident.
"There were no eyewitnesses at the scene and no forensic evidence connecting [the] defendant to the crime," the court said. "The error, in light of the overall strength of the State's case, is "'sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to whether [it] led the jury to a result it otherwise might not have reached.'"
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Katherine Carter told NJ.com the county has not deicided whether to retry the case.
“We are aware of the ruling,” she said. “We will be reviewing it to determine our legal options.”
Assistant Deputy Public Defender Zachary Markarian, who represented Thompson in his appeal, said he would be detained to the county jail and accessed for his eligibility for a pre-trial release, according to NJ.com.
“Mr. Thompson is gratified that the Appellate Division recognized that the trial court’s serious errors deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair trial,” Markarian said in a statement.