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NH Supreme Court oral argument coverage
October 22nd, 2016
Last week, Richard Guerriero was before the New Hampshire Supreme Court, presenting oral argument in an appeal from a jury's guilty verdicts of reckless second degree murder, assault by prisoner and falsifying physical evidence. You can click this link to read coverage of the oral argument in the Concord Monitor: 2016-10-20-guerriero-in-monitor-for-nhsct-appeal
The Case
The defendant and co-defendant William Edic were convicted of these crimes based on allegations that they lured the victim, another inmate, into a unit of the prison and then one or both of them kicked him to death. The prosecution theorized that the killing was in retaliation for the victim's "snitching" on two members of a gang.
Guilt by Association
On appeal, Richard Guerriero argued that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of the violent and retaliatory activities of a prison-based gang, BOWW, that the defendant had not belonged to for several years. Thus, the prosecution sought to prove its case through the age-old tactic of "guilt by association."
The Court will likely issue a ruling within the next several months.