Commonwealth v. Pina

Summary

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a Superior Court judge's allowance of the defendant's third motion for a new trial on his 1996 convictions for the 1993 murder of Keith Robinson and unlawful possession of a firearm. The court held that the motion judge did not abuse his discretion in concluding that newly discovered evidence of key eyewitness Debra Annas's psychiatric hospitalization and treatment, newly discovered third-party culprit evidence involving a carjacked Nissan and Brian Johnson's possession of the murder weapon, and newly available DNA evidence excluding the defendant acted in concert to cast real doubt on the justice of the convictions. The court further held that the Commonwealth waived its challenge to the judge's resolution of the DNA evidence without live testimony. The matter was remanded for a new trial if the Commonwealth chooses to pursue one.