New Orleans Vacates Three Murder Convictions Tied to Corrupt Cops
Officers Len Davis and Sammie Williams were known to cover up the identity of perpetrators and manipulate evidence at murder scenes .
Landwebs
Kunta Gable, Leroy Nelson and Bernell Juluke, three men imprisoned since the 1990s for a fatal New Orleans drive-by shooting, have had their convictions vacated due to the involvement of two notoriously corrupt police officers in their case, reports Kevin McGill for Associated Press. The motion said the state failed to disclose evidence undermining the case against the men and that the jury didn’t know that the first officers on the scene, Len Davis and Sammie Williams, were known to cover up the identity of perpetrators and manipulate evidence at murder scenes at the housing project to cover up for drug dealers they protected.
The motion also said the only witness to the shooting, Samuel Raiford, did not initially describe three suspects, adding, “the first time three perpetrators were mentioned by anyone is by Len Davis after the three defendants were pulled over.” District Attorney Jason Williams said that there was extensive documented evidence of Davis’ illegal misconduct while operating “under color of law.”
