Conviction reversed for man serving life in California Borough homicide
The Superior Court reversed an Ohio man’s conviction for the 2003 homicide of a state police informant in Washington County.
The appellate court granted Michael J. Duncan, 43, his bid for post-conviction relief on Monday, granting him a new trial on charges he shot John L. Newman with an accomplice. Two of the judges on the panel that heard the case – with the third concurring – found that Duncan’s trial attorney was ineffective by failing to question a key witness, Michael Bowman, about an immunity deal Bowman received for his testimony.
Bowman told the court that Duncan, of Amherst, had allegedly planned the execution with his co-defendant, John I. Bronson Jr. The court’s 18-page decision says that Newman was helping police who were investigating allegations that Bronson was dealing Oxycodone. Newman was shot to death in his car near his home in California.
“In this case, Bowman was a key witness because he was the only witness to describe the details of the meetings and the only direct evidence to point to a conspiracy,” Senior Judge Dan Pellegrini wrote. “He testified at trial that he was present when Bronson arranged for Duncan to kill Newman and further testified that Duncan told him he then killed Newman. Disclosure of the immunity agreement was material information that Duncan’s jury should have been informed of when weighing Bowman’s credibility and the motivation for his testimony.”
Duncan’s trial attorney, David S. Shrager, died in 2014.
Duncan was convicted in 2012 of first-degree murder and conspiring with Bronson. Duncan was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 15 to 30 years for the conspiracy, and is imprisoned at SCI Huntingdon. Bronson was also convicted on those charges, plus criminal solicitation, and given a life sentence. A third defendant, Howard E. Irwin Jr., pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for agreeing to testify during the trial. He was released with time served on a one-year sentence.
Attorney Stephen Paul, who’s represented Duncan for about five years, cited “untrustworthy witnesses” in the case and said his client “has always contended that he never really received a fair trial.”
“All he ever wanted was a fair trial,” Paul added. “He’s ecstatic that he has the opportunity to defend himself.”
Prosecutors haven’t indicated whether or not they’ll appeal. District Attorney Gene Vittone said he was aware of the decision and would review the case.