Prosecutor’s Comments Tainted Verdict in Drug Conspiracy Case

Improper comments made by the prosecutor in a drug conspiracy case required granting the defendants a new trial because they were prejudicial and there wasn’t enough other evidence of guilt, the First Circuit said.

During her opening statement, at closing, and during rebuttal, the prosecutor in the cases against Edward Canty III and Melquan Jordan appealed to the jurors’ emotions as the conscience of the community, argued that Canty and Jordan should go to jail because their other co-conspirators were already there, vouched for witnesses, and made statements unsupported by the evidence.

The US District Court for the District of ...