LANSING (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned the first-degree murder conviction of a man linked to a Flint gang because the prosecution didn’t tell the jury about FBI payments to a key witness.
A Genesee County circuit court jury convicted Feronda Smith in 2011 in the 2005 shooting of drug dealer Larry Pass at Pass’s home.
The Flint Journal says the now-40-year-old Smith was among about 30 people arrested in 2007 in a federal and local crackdown on the Pierson Hood gang.
Smith got the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
The court recently issued a split decision overturning Smith’s conviction. It said jurors should have heard that prosecution witness Mark Yancy received payment for helping the FBI investigate the gang and Pass’s killing.
- Posted August 10, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
State high court tosses murder conviction
headlines Macomb
- Sharing some holiday cheer
- MDHHS shares latest MISEP update demonstrating strong progress and improvements made in keeping children safe
- Task force investigations result in two men arraigned on charges including armed robbery, conducting a criminal enterprise
- Law firm honors local teacher as Exceptional Educator of the Month
- Nessel announces settlements with Lannett and Bausch approaching $18M over conspiracies to inflate prices and limit competition
headlines National
- Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law back in compliance with ABA standard
- Chemerinsky: The Fourth Amendment comes back to the Supreme Court
- Reinstatement of retired judge reversed by state supreme court
- Mass tort lawyer suspended for 3 years for lying to clients
- Law firms in Minneapolis are helping lawyers, staff navigate unrest
- Federal judge faces trial on charges of being ‘super drunk’ while driving
