Retrial Postponed for Man Previously Convicted of Murder

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Homicide defendant Sean Morris’ retrial was scheduled to begin on Sept. 13, but counsel found themselves before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn, wondering why the defendant had not been transferred to the city.

During reception court on Tuesday, defense attorney William Buie III stood in on behalf of his client, who is currently held at North Branch Correctional Institution without bail–roughly two and a half hours from Baltimore City.

Judge Phinn called the facility to inquire why the order she filed in April 2021 to have Morris transported to a Baltimore area detention center had been overlooked.

Over the phone, she said the order may have been one of many affected by the pandemic, but stressed the need for the defendant to be transferred because he was in pre-trial status.

In 2018, Morris was found guilty by a jury of his peers of first-degree murder in connection to an incident on Aug. 30, 2017.

According to CBS Baltimore, at approximately 2 p.m., police responded to reports of a man shot on the 800 block of North Woodington Road. There, they found Troy Gladney suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Medics pronounced Gladney dead at the scene.

Morris’ sentence of life in prison plus a consecutive 35 years was overturned in February on the grounds that witnesses had been improperly permitted to testify about their fears of coming to court.

The court of appeals ruled the testimony to be “unduly prejudice” to the defendant because it may have implied he was responsible for witness intimidation.

Morris’ new trial date is scheduled for Feb. 13, 2023, with Judge Kendra Y. Ausby presiding.