State court overturns Your Black Muslim Bakery member's kidnapping conviction
SAN FRANCISCO -- The conviction and life sentence of a member of the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery in the 2007 kidnapping and torture of an Oakland woman has been overturned by a state appellate court.
The jury in the 2010 trial of Richard Lewis heard weak evidence "that was far from overwhelming" based mostly on three turncoat witnesses, 1st District Court of Appeal Justice Peter Siggins wrote in a 3-0 decision released Friday.
Jurors may also may have been influenced by testimony and statements about other crimes involving the bakery, the justice wrote, including the August 2007 murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey, an event that did not involve Lewis.
Because of the new ruling, Lewis, 29, a former San Francisco high school football star, could get a new trial.
full: http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_25042401/state-court-overturns-your-black-muslim-bakery-members
Wikipedia about Chauncey Bailey
Chauncey Wendell Bailey, Jr. (October 20, 1949 – August 2, 2007) was an American journalist, noted for his work primarily on issues of the African American community. He served as editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post in Oakland, California from June 2007 until his death. His 37-year career in journalism included lengthy periods as a reporter at The Detroit News and The Oakland Tribune. He was shot dead on a Downtown Oakland street on August 2, 2007.[1] His death outraged fellow journalists, who joined together to create the Chauncey Bailey Project dedicated to continuing his work and uncovering the facts of his murder. In June 2011 Yusuf Bey IV, a local bakery owner, and his associate Antoine Mackey were convicted of ordering Bailey's murder. A third man, bakery handyman Devaughndre Brousard, had earlier confessed to being the triggerman. Bailey had been doing investigative reporting about Bey and his business; Bailey was the first American journalist killed for domestic reporting since 1976.[2]
