Samuel George was on a Westwego corner on the night of August 3, 1992, when a car, supposedly with three men in it, approached him. Mr. George’s friend was sitting on a nearby truck and claimed to see the occupants of the car when it went under a streetlight. He identified Terrence Meyers as the driver and Larry Delmore as the front passenger. The car, an orange prime colored Cutlass coupe, stopped at the corner. The witness claimed that Glenn Davis, the rear passenger, asked Mr. George if he had anything. Mr. George walked toward the car and Mr. Delmore fired a gun three times. Mr. George was hit in the chest and arm. The Cutlass pulled away and the witness ran behind a house. He claimed to hear a fourth shot as the Cutlass went down the street. Another witness ran to Mr. George; this witness had not been able to view the occupants of the Cutlass. Mr. George’s friend returned to the scene and spoke to police.
Despite the witness knowing all three men, he initially didn’t name them when speaking to police and failed to identify Meyers and Delmore in photographic lineups shown eight days later. Two days later, he was shown the same two lineups and wound up identifying Mr. Meyers as the driver and Mr. Delmore as the front passenger. The next day, police again presented the witness with a lineup. This time, he identified Mr. Davis as the rear passenger. Though an undercover informant had informed the lead detective that three other men were involved, a jury convicted Mr. Davis, Mr. Delmore, and Mr. Meyers of second degree murder in July 1993.
Innocence & Justice Louisiana investigated Mr. Davis’s case and unearthed much evidence that had been hidden by the state. Mr. George’s friend, the only purported eyewitness, had actually been inside when Mr. George was shot, and so could not have witnessed the crime. Further, police knew that there was evidence tying another man to the crime – this man was a known, violent drug dealer who had feuded with the victim over a previous shooting incident. The trial lawyer representing all three defendants was simultaneously representing this other suspect. Though the state and trial counsel knew of this suspect, his name was never mentioned at trial.
Innocence & Justice Louisiana litigated Mr. Davis’s case and his conviction was overturned in February 2007, leading to his release two months later. Innocence & Justice Louisiana then worked with counsel to have Mr. Meyers and Mr. Delmore released. Their convictions were reversed in August 2008.
Finally, in September 2010, 17 years after conviction, the state announced that it would not re-try any of the three and they were exonerated. Sadly, Mr. Meyers passed away in April 2012, fewer than two years after exoneration.
