Overview
- The Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled Monday, vacated Renardo Williams’ murder conviction and ordered a new trial.
- The justices said the judge wrongly kept jurors from hearing survivor Mayklens Francois’ police statements about having a gun until after Williams testified.
- Chief Justice Kimberly Budd wrote that the error pressured Williams to take the stand and could have swayed the jury on his self-defense claim.
- The case stems from a 2018 marijuana deal in a Brockton parking lot where Bethgy Cator was killed and Francois was wounded, with prosecutors citing surveillance flashes, 11 .40-caliber shell casings, and Williams’ fingerprints.
- The ruling nullifies his life-without-parole sentence pending new proceedings, with prosecutors yet to say if they will retry him.