Court Opinion

ID: 9475601
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:32:14.992119+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:48.575736
License: Public Domain

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge,
concurring and dissenting.
I find this to be a troubling case. Granted that the killings (executions, really) were brutally carried out, the tardily-submitted affidavits merit fuller consideration when viewed in the light of the evidence against Hall.
Moorman's trial testimony was at best equivocal on whether Hall had a weapon in his possession at the time of the killings. True, Hall admitted in his statement that he drove one of the cars to the scene of the killings and stood watch while Moorman, Stephenson, and a third man fired into the trunk. Hall also stated, however, that at *169the time Moorman and the others came to his home and asked him to join them he had no idea that they planned to kill the victims. Moreover, he denied having a pistol in his possession at the time of the killings. Moorman and Stephenson now claim to be prepared to testify to the truth of Hall’s denial of complicity. Indeed, Moorman stands ready to testify that Hall was forced to participate in the killings.
I agree that recantations are to be viewed with a skeptical eye, especially when they come from the likes of Moorman and Stephenson. That said, however, I believe that Hall should be afforded an evidentiary hearing on his claim of newly discovered evidence. See Pruitt v. Housewright, 624 F.2d 851, 853 (8th Cir.1980) (Bright, J., dissenting).
I concur in the remainder of the majority opinion.