Man who served 13 years for murders acquitted

After 13 years in prison and a court fight that began in 2014 and ended Thursday afternoon, Charles "Teddy" Pierre did not have to wait long for a verdict.

The jury in his second trial for two 2002 homicides took only three hours to find Pierre not guilty in the slayings. The possibility that another man, Darrell Boyd, committed the killings of Clara Sconiers and Thomas Reed in August 2002 was clearly too much of a hurdle to be overcome by prosecutors, who said the evidence pointed to Pierre as the murderer.

For Pierre's attorney, Van Henri White, the verdict was proof that the justice system can get it right.

"Justice took a while but it got here," White said after the verdict. "Teddy Pierre is evidence of that."

What's next for Pierre is uncertain. In most circumstances, he would be released and free. However, Pierre was facing a possible deportation to his home of Trinidad in 2002. Pierre, who is in his 40s now, could remain detained while awaiting an immigration decision.

But on Thursday, the possibility of deportation was a minor worry, as he was found not guilty for the crimes that have kept him imprisoned since his 2002 arrest.

"I cannot even begin to express the feelings that Teddy and I have at this particular juncture," White said.

The journey toward innocence for Pierre began when the District Attorney's Office learned that Boyd may have told both his ex-wife and an inmate in the jail that he killed Sconiers and Reed, who were brutally beaten in an apartment at 262 First St.

Boyd is now in prison for the murder of Katharina Lawn, who was also beaten to death. Boyd then set a fire to try to cover up the killing, just as happened in the deaths of Sconiers and Reed.

Boyd and his then-wife lived in the same apartment house as did Sconiers and Reed in 2002. The day of their deaths, Boyd allegedly tried to strangle his wife — police were called for a domestic incident — and smoked crack cocaine.

The District Attorney's Office notified Pierre of the statements by Boyd, and White agreed to represent him pro bono. Last year, Monroe County Court Judge Douglas Randall overturned Pierre's conviction because of the new evidence. Prosecutors decided to try Pierre again.

Throughout the weeklong trial that ended Thursday, White hammered home the possibility that the First Street killings were committed by Boyd, who did not testify.

But prosecutors maintained that there was no evidence, other than his statements, that pointed to Boyd. District Attorney Sandra Doorley, who prosecuted Pierre in 2003, said Boyd told investigators that he told his ex-wife he committed the killings just to scare her.

Eyewitnesses who said they saw Pierre at the house in 2002, and claimed they heard him arguing with Sconiers, still told the same stories this year, Doorley said.

"We met with those eyewitnesses (before this trial) and we believed they were strong," she said.

In his closing argument Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Brian Green said Boyd was at the house when firefighters tried to stifle the flames. If he was the killer, Green asked, why would he stay. Plus, he said, there was no blood on Boyd.

The murder weapon was never found.

White pointed out that the eyewitnesses who said Pierre was there also did not report seeing blood on him. Police zeroed in on Pierre, and ignored evidence that could have pointed to other suspects, White said in his closing Thursday.

"They didn't look at anybody else ... because they thought they had their man," he said.

Doorley contended that prosecutors were partly hamstrung in this trial because Randall prohibited testimony that the DA's Office thought would show motive for Pierre.

A witness who testified in 2003 claimed that Sconiers asked him to hold onto some money because Pierre, whom she had been dating, wanted to take it. Randall did not allow that testimony, ruling it was more prejudicial than relevant.

Pierre also failed a polygraph before the first trial and again this time, Doorley said. Prosecutors cannot introduce polygraph evidence at trial because of long-established questions about its reliability.

Reed's younger brother, Clarence, said after court that the precluded evidence hurt the prosecution of Pierre. Sconiers' request that someone else keep her money was important for the jury to hear, he said.

"That's a woman speaking from her death," he said.

But White said prosecutors have done a disservice to the victims' families by continuing to insist on Pierre's guilt, given that another man has confessed to the killings and committed another murder with a nearly exact modus operandi.

"The problem is they have the wrong person being held accountable," White said. He said Randall's rulings were legally sound, and ensured a fair trial for Pierre.

"For all of those out there who think the system doesn't work, it does work," White said.

GCRAIG@DemocratandChronicle.com