D.A. asks for files from Innocence Commission
The Wake County District Attorney has asked that the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission hand over its file on Gregory Taylor, the Cary man whom the commission recently referred for a new trial. As the chief prosecutor in the county where the original crime was committed, Willoughby would argue the case against Taylor.
Posted — UpdatedD.A. Colon Willoughby filed the motion for disclosure Thursday in state Superior Court asking for statements, investigative notes, tests, photos and videos the commission may have relative to Taylor’s case.
Taylor was convicted in 1993 of the stabbing and beating death of 26-year-old Jacquetta Thomas. He has served 16 years in prison for the crime.
On Sept. 4, after two days of hearing new evidence, the Innocence Commission unanimously decided to send Taylor’s claim to a three-judge panel who will oversee a new trial.
The commission heard a recorded statement in which Craig H. Taylor, 40, told an investigator that he hit Thomas in the face and beat her to death with a bat. He said he tried to make look like she was raped but did not rape her.
The two men share a last name, but are not related.
As the chief prosecutor in the county where the original crime was committed, Willoughby would argue the case against Taylor before the three-judge panel.
Willoughby has said he is a “little skeptical” about Craig Taylor’s claims. He said the inmate has also confessed to other murders that were not substantiated.
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
