Irony?

[stevew]

C-Murder Loses Murder Conviction Appeal

GRETNA, La. - C-Murder, who lost in his latest bid to get his second-degree murder conviction thrown out, is hopeful Louisiana's Supreme Court will be more favorable to his appeal than the lower courts have been.


"I'm just trying to bring darkness to light the best way I know how," the rapper said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "I'm hoping everything turns out all right."


The rapper, whose real name is Corey Miller, was convicted Sept. 30, 2003, in the death of Steve Thomas, 16, at a nightclub in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.


In April 2004, State District Judge Martha Sassone ordered a new trial on grounds that prosecutors withheld information on the criminal history of their key witnesses.


Prosecutors appealed the ruling, and earlier this month, two of the three judges on a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that even without the witnesses' testimony, "there was an abundance of other evidence which fully established Miller's guilt."


C-Murder asked for a rehearing before the entire court, but the request was denied Tuesday. He is being held in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. Ron Rakosky, C-Murder's lawyer, said he would appeal to the state Supreme Court.


C-Murder told the AP that he believes other courts may have been swayed by media reports and negative comments made about him. He recently angered the local sheriff by recording parts of his latest music video and album behind bars.


"I think all of that plays a part, 100 percent. You've got the sheriff on TV saying he wants revenge," he said. "How can I win when it comes to decision that determines my life?"


C-Murder's new album, "The Truest (Expletive) I Ever Heard," was released last week.

[Joe]

definitely like rain on your wedding day

[timmynausea]

I guess his lawyers' first strategy was to try to plea bargain his name down to C-Manslaughter.

[rkmsuf]

The court will kindly address the defendant as Mr. Miller and NOT Mr. Murder.

Ok Mr. Murder...uh just playin.

Ok Mr. Miller, how do you plead?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by timmynausea

I guess his lawyers' first strategy was to try to plea bargain his name down to C-Manslaughter.

Lol

[JonInMiddleGA]

My Way News - New Orleans rapper sentenced to life in prison

GRETNA, La. (AP) - Clad in an orange jail jumpsuit and with shackles on his hands and ankles, rapper Corey "C-Murder" Miller stood silently as he was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the shooting death of a teenager in 2002.

District Judge Hans Liljeberg gave Miller the mandatory life sentence, days after a jury convicted the rapper of second-degree murder.

At least 20 uniformed officers surrounded the 38-year-old Miller as he shuffled into court and remained until he was led back to jail.

Miller was convicted of shooting 16-year-old fan Steve Thomas at a now-closed nightclub in Harvey after a confrontation during a rap contest.

It was the second time that a jury convicted Miller in the case, but a 2003 conviction was overturned.

Before he handed down the sentence, the judge denied a request by Miller's attorney Ron Rakosky for a new trial. Then Thomas' parents took the stand to testify about the damage the murder had done to them.

"We still cry every day for our baby," Dolores Thomas said, weeping. "We never got to see him graduate, go to the prom, get married. We won't have a grandchild to love."

Thomas's father, George Thomas, said holding in the pain of his son's murder led to a heart attack which left him in intensive care for four months. Then he turned to address the Miller family and friends in the courtroom directly.

"I'm sorry for you, but you can see him," he said. "You can talk to him. What do we have? All we can look at are photos and a grave."

Miller, who had smiled at his family earlier, stared stoically ahead during the Thomas testimony.

In Louisiana the sentence does not allow probation or parole.

Following the sentencing, the judge granted a motion for appeal. He also allowed Rakosky to withdraw as Miller's lawyer and appointed a public defender for the rapper.

Rakosky had asked to withdraw in May, saying he had not been paid for his work for Miller. Liljeberg refused that request.

Miller was fingerprinted after the sentencing, then surrounded with guards and taken immediately to the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, 13 miles south of Baton Rouge.

Miller has been in jail after pleading no contest to two counts of attempted murder in a separate altercation at a nightclub in Baton Rouge in 2001.

Miller and his brothers - Percy "Master P" Miller and Vyshonn "Silkk The Shocker" Miller - used to rap on Percy Miller's now-defunct No Limit Records, a popular label for Southern rap through the 1990s.