USA - West Virginia. U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver determined that Georgie "Porgie" Lecco and Valerie Suzette Friend will get a new trial.

U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver in Charleston determined that 2 persons currently on death row will get a new trial due to jury misconduct. Georgie "Porgie" Lecco, 59, white, and Valerie Suzette Friend, 46, white, were convicted in May 2007 for the 2005 murder of drug informant Carla Collins, 33. The pair was found guilty of using a firearm to commit murder during a federal investigation and killing someone assisting the government in a federal investigation. They were subsequently sentenced to the death penalty. Prosecutors argued that Lecco paid Friend in cocaine to kill Carla Collins, and that Friend shot and beat Collins to death on April 16, 2005. According to the motion for a new trial, a juror at the trial, William Griffith, was under investigation for allegedly possessing child pornography by the same U.S. Attorney’s Office that was prosecuting Lecco and Friends. Although Griffith received notice in 2003 that he was the subject of a federal grand jury investigation, he did not disclose that he was under investigation on the 38-page questionnaire given to prospective jurors. Judge Copenhaver said the same judicial office was in charge of both the investigation into the child pornography allegations and the prosecution in the Collins murder case, affecting the effectiveness of Griffith as a juror. "The looming potential of further investigation or prosecution -- by the very same entity charged with prosecuting defendants Lecco and Friend -- resulted in a burden on Griffith's impartiality that can fairly be said to have affected the fairness of the trial and sentencing hearing," Judge Copenhaver wrote in his memorandum granting the new trial. A new trial date has not been set. (see also 29/05/2007).