Kalvin Michael Smith lost his bid for a new trial this morning, when a Forsyth Superior Court judge ruled against him in a notorious 1995 assault case.
Judge Richard Doughton ruled Smith had not shown enough evidence during a hearing that began Monday that he deserved a new trial. His ruling came just after attorneys for Smith and the state made their closing arguments.
"It is my conclusion that the defendant has failed to prove his claims,'' Doughton said. "I'm going to rule in favor of the state.''
Upon hearing Doughton, Smith slowly, but surely began shaking his head "no.'' He was then taken away and was later consulting his attorney, David Pishko, who was not available for comment.
Smith has been in prison for nearly 12 years since being convicted in the beating of Jill Marker inside the Silk Plant Forest, a store off Silas Creek Parkway. The attack left Marker with permanent brain damage, and she is now blind.
Smith has long maintained his innocence. His case was taken up by the Innocence Project at Duke University in 2003, and also was the subject of a five-part investigative series in the Winston-Salem Journal in 2004 that raised serious questions about the work of police and prosecutors in the case.
Smith's new attorneys last year filed a motion for appropriate relief, seeking a new trial based on allegations that prosecutors relied on false testimony, that they withheld a videotaped police interview of Marker and that William Speaks, Smith's court-appointed trial during his trial, was ineffective.
Witnesses whose testimony put Smith at the scene of the crime have since recanted, and several testified during the hearing before Judge Richard Doughton, which began on Monday. Police involved in the case, including the lead detective, Don Williams, and retired Lt. Randy Weavil, also took the stand, denying that they ever pressured the witnesses or threatened them.
Smith is serving a sentence of at least 22 years and 10 months.
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