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By
Andrew Michaels
- September 27, 2021
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Following arguments from the defense and prosecution, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Philip S. Jackson said he would make a decision, in the coming weeks, on a convicted murderer’s motion to modify his sentence on Sept. 27.
Peter Miller, 30, and his defense attorney, William Welch, appeared before Judge Jackson during a post-conviction hearing on Monday afternoon to discuss a murder that occurred on April 21, 2009.
According to the prosecution, Miller was among five co-defendants—including Aaron Davis, Derrell Johnson, Humphrey Bougarte Johnson, and Eric Williams—during a four-week trial in 2011. The five men were involved a kidnapping that led to the victim’s death.
Miller, who was found guilty of firing the gun that killed the victim, was sentenced to life for first-degree murder, 20 years for handgun use in a committing a crime, and three years for having a handgun on his person.
During Monday’s proceedings, Welch called Miller as a witness and argued about the defendant’s prior counsel’s ineffectiveness throughout the course of the trial.
Miller said his former defense attorney only met with him once at the Baltimore City Detention Center to discuss pre-trial paperwork—a visit that lasted about 30 minutes. He also said that his prior attorney never asked any personal information about the defendant until the day of the sentencing.
“You don’t know what you’ll find if you never ask,” Welch told Judge Jackson.
Although the prior attorney said he was going to file a motion for modification on Miller’s behalf, Welch told the court that nothing was ever filed.
Welch also argued that the jury was poorly instructed because Miller’s co-defendant’s testified at the trial, but the jury was never informed of their background history nor whether they were found guilty or accepted plea agreements.
During her counterargument, the prosecution said Miller “knew what he was doing” and then requested Judge Jackson to deny Miller’s request for post-conviction.