Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Supreme Court Monday rejected Derick Hazard's bid for a new trial.

Hazard, 37, is serving a life sentence for the July 18, 1996 murder of David S. Andrews, who was gunned down in South Providence while Hazard maintains he was in Columbus, Ohio, on a family vacation.

Hazard, who has been imprisoned for more than 10 years, based his petition for post-conviction relief on the competency of his trial lawyer, Vincent J. Oddo.

Hazard's current lawyer, former Assistant Attorney General J. Richard Ratcliffe, who took the case on for free, contended that Hazard's conviction for first-degree murder should be overturned because, he argued, Oddo's perfromance fell below the minimum standard required by the Rhode Island Constitution.

Superior Court Judge Edwin J. Gale disagreed and in a 2006 decision, refused to vacate the guilty verdict.

Hazard faulted Oddo for failing to introduce evidence that he says would have bolstered his claim that he was in Ohio the night of Andrews's slaying. A co-defendant in the case, Troy Lassiter, has admitted being the gunman and has already been released on parole, after serving 7½ years in the Adult Correctional Institutions.

A Providence Journal reporter who investigated Hazard's claim of innocence after his trial found documentary evidence that a New Jersey state trooper had stopped a car that had been rented in Rhode Island by Hazard's girlfriend -- now his wife -- the morning of July 18, 1996. The car was headed west in the direction of Ohio. The trooper recorded that there were three black men in the car but later testified that the only person he took identification from was the person he issued a warning to, Derick's younger brother, Kyle Hazard.

In rejecting Hazard's bid for a new trial, Acting Chief Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg said Monday, "We are satisfied that [Hazard] has failed to overcome the strong presumption that Oddo's performance was reasonably professional."

She said that "the paramount issue before this court is whether Oddo was apprised of the stop at a point in time that permitted further investigation. At best, according to his testimony, Oddo first learned about the traffic stop just before trial -- two years into his representation of applicant. Oddo testified that because Hazard did not provide him with any details surrounding the stop, including the state in which it occurred, and because Hazard waited two years to tell him about it, he refrained from pursuing an investigation and from seeking a continuance."

Goldberg also said that Hazard had an "ever-shifting" story about the traffic stop and that the testimony he and family members gave to Gale "was riddled with inconsistencies and mendacities." She said her court agreed with Gale that Oddo was a more credible witness.

 Tags  murder Providence RI Rhode Island Supreme Court

Comments

Steve said:

As usual in RI this young man is getting a railroading like no other. The man who admitted to pulling the trigger is out free but this man who has real evidence that could put reasonable doubt into the minds of the jury is still serving a life sentence. Maureen Goldberg (I purposefully left out the Honrable) Has no business being the chief Justice acting or otherwise. She wasn't even a competent lawyer for criminy's sake.

Link | April 20, 2009 1:51 PM
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Fed Up... said:

I guess Derrick Hazard couldn't afford to buy the court a new courthouse to get a favorable decision.

Once again Justice Goldberg refuses to accept the obvious, and forces her subjective decision over the 'rule of law'.

On second thought... Pehaps she would make a wonderful Chief Justice as she has the same convoluted mindset as her mentor Frank Williams.

Link | April 20, 2009 2:14 PM
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bob North Smithfield said:

"Riddled with inconsistencies and mendacities"

Who?

The Court or Mr. Hazard?

Just like the police, the court will NEVER admit a mistake.
The RI Supreme Court that just spent $42,000 redecorating a single office for the old boss, who "uses it from time to time"

Why Mr. Hazard got a life sentence, when the man who ADMITTED to the killing is already out of jail if beyond me.

Justice McKenna makes me laugh.
When she was running for office, she added "Sanchez" to her litany of surnames, McKenna (Irish) Goldberg (Jewish) Sanchez (Latino) to cover all of her bases with ethnic and/or religious groups.
Now, she issues rulings. Yikes!

Link | April 20, 2009 4:01 PM
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Only in RI said:

Mr. Hazard deserves a second chance of a trial...But this is Rhode Isaland.

Link | April 20, 2009 4:05 PM
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Kenny said:

Reporter Tracy Breton neglected to tell us that Troy Lassiter admits that Derrick Hazzard was with him here in Providence when they committed the murder!!!! Why not report the whole story .

Link | April 21, 2009 11:12 AM
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Rhode Island Chick said:

I think that Hazard should get a second chance, because the guy that had commited crime adimitted that he did the crime and now hes out here runnin free...Who knows what might happen next when we got a killer on the loose. He might go out and kill someone else God Forbid...Court houses always think they doing something right for the state but if they look at it, really they are always missing up. Now poor Hazard he been behind bars for almost 10 years and thats not fair...He has a life too...Let him be FREE...

Link | October 23, 2009 8:26 AM
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