Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Man jailed for
five years is acquitted
Jury finds he wasn't gambling den killer
By Susan Finch Staff writer
A 26-year-old man who spent almost five years in
Orleans Parish Prison awaiting trial for first-degree
murder is free.
Desmond Robinson of New Orleans "broke down in tears
and couldn't stop crying" when the jury in Judge Frank
Marullo's court announced it had found him innocent,
his attorney, Jeffrey Smith, said.
Robinson had been accused of gunning down 45-year-old
Charles Ray Anderson on April 1, 2000, in an illegal
gambling house at 2308 A.P. Tureaud Ave. The jury
deliberated about 30 minutes late Friday, and Robinson
was set free Saturday afternoon.
Smith said there were several problems with the
state's case, including the fact that prosecutors
could not link his client to the murder by
fingerprints or a weapon.
Indeed, Assistant District Attorney Michael Morales
said prosecutors' only evidence was the testimony of
one eyewitness and the transcript of testimony from a
2001 motion hearing from another witness who has since
died.
"In an age where you've got CSI on TV three times a
week, juries are wanting forensic evidence,
fingerprints or something," Morales said.
Appeals of legal issues, a series of postponements and
a February mistrial caused the long wait for a verdict
in Robinson's case, Morales said Monday. In appeals,
prosecutors sought successfully to use the transcript
of testimony from the now-dead witness. Also, higher
courts left intact Marullo's ruling that Robinson was
not mentally retarded and could face the death penalty
if convicted.
Robinson's mother, Debora Robinson, said her son is
excited about being out of jail and that his father is
trying to get him a job. She said her heart goes out
to Anderson's family, but in this case, officials
prosecuted the wrong man.
