C-MURDER: Rapper Lives His Lyrics

A New Trial

Corey Miller

The district attorney's office in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana is attempting to return Corey Miller, the rapper formerly known as C-Murder to jail. At the same time, the daily newspaper in New Orleans is going to court to try and obtain sealed documents related to the case.

These are among the latest developments in the case in which Miller was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury but has been granted a new trial on legal technicalities. On October 1, 2003, Miller was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas at a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana, on January 14, 2002. However, the presiding judge in the case, Martha Sassone, later ruled that vital information had been withheld from the defense by the prosecution.

Several key prosecution witnesses reportedly had criminal records, which Miller's attorneys said they weren't given during the trial. Sassone agreed that this could have made a difference in the case's outcome and she ordered a new trial for Miller. An appeals court overturned her decision and finally the Louisiana State Supreme Court reinstated it. No new trial date has been set.

On March 21, 2006, Sassone granted the defense's request that Miller be released on $500,000 bond into a "home incarceration" program. He would be allowed to stay at his grandmother's house but heavy restrictions were placed on his movements and visitors. The only time he would be allowed out of the house was for court dates or to meet with his attorneys. Only close family members, his lawyers and a priest were allowed to visit him or talk to him on the phone. He was ordered to wear a tracking device that allowed the authorities to monitor his movements and he had to submit to random drug tests. No parties or interviews with the media were allowed.