Four who were convicted in the murder of Chris Paul’s grandfather lose bid for innocence
The case for exonerating four teenage boys convicted of killing and robbing NBA star Chris Paul’s grandfather hinged on their age, their conflicting confessions and their interrogations without lawyers or parents present.
But after a nine-day hearing, a panel of judges rejected their push for innocence, finding a lack of clear evidence.
Their case stemmed from the 2002 death of Nathaniel Jones, 61, who had returned to his Winston-Salem home to find an attack waiting in his carport. Beaten and robbed, he died on the ground with his hands bound and his mouth taped.
Police charged five teens from the neighborhood, all of whom had a history of learning problems and were questioned without parents or attorneys present — a practice North Carolina and other states no longer permit.
Two of the men convicted of first-degree murder, Nathaniel Cauthen and Rayshawn Banner, remain in prison. Two convicted of second-degree murder, Christopher Bryant and Jermal Tolliver, have since been released. A fifth, Dorrell Brayboy, has since died.
Center on Actual Innocence
The four living men sought exoneration through the NC Center on Actual Innocence, which filed a 90-page plea outlining crucial problems with their cases, all of them based on forced confessions.
For one, the plea said, police threatened the teens with the death penalty though they were too young to be eligible, at one point pointing to a vein on a suspect’s arm and telling him the needle would go there.
For another, the plea said, their confessions contradict each other and each describes himself playing a minor role in the attack. Also, their descriptions of Jones’s killing do not match evidence from the crime scene.
Third, the main witness in their prosecution has since recanted her story, saying under oath during the 2020 commission hearing that she told detectives what she thought they wanted to hear after they threatened her with prosecution.
Christine Mumma, the center’s executive director, said the outcome shows further that “the scales of justice are impacted by many things that defy common sense and the law.
“In 2002,” she said, “six teenagers were manipulated and coerced into giving false confessions in the death of Mr. Jones. They were not involved and the true perpetrator(s) have not been brought to justice. While our hearts go out to the victim’s family members, we are confident that the truth will prevail in the end.”
Paul’s tribute to grandfather
Chris Paul often worked at his grandfather’s service station, and for a tribute while he was in high school, he asked his coach at West Forsyth High to let him play an entire game. That’s when he scored 61 points, his grandfather’s age when he died.
He was not publicly involved in the case for exoneration.
The hearing came after a referral from the NC Innocence Inquiry Commission, but the three-judge panel ruled the men had failed to show “clear and compelling evidence.”
The Innocence Commission has held 18 hearings throughout its history, a total that makes up less than 1% of all its claims. To date, eight of those cases brought exoneration of nine people overall.
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Four who were convicted in the murder of Chris Paul’s grandfather lose bid for innocence."