Recently, the Court of Appeals, a court intended to correct the mistakes of the trial court, instead created even more errors in its opinion by misapplying the law and relying on facts not in evidence. These mistakes appear to stem from the primary COA judge, Jefferson Griffin, neglecting his judicial duties while embroiled in multiple lawsuits and an ongoing effort to invalidate the legitimate votes of thousands of North Carolinians in an attempt to overturn an election he lost.

The Court improperly stated that Rashawn purchased shotgun shells prior to the crime. This is an assertion that is completely false and unsupported by any evidence. They also falsely claimed that he sent a message saying he was “up and on his way to defend his brother,” another statement not backed by the record or text messages. The Court further erred by allowing the trial court to issue an acting in concert instruction despite the State presenting no evidence that Rashawn engaged in any common purpose or plan to commit the crime, and no evidence suggested so. 

Finally, while the Court acknowledged that the prosecutor’s remarks were “improper,” it wrongly concluded that the error was harmless.

We cannot allow a court to misapply the law or invent facts to uphold a wrongful conviction. If even the highest courts evade accountability, what hope is left for justice?

We have petitioned the USSC to review and hopefully provide some relief. Rashawn’s legal team is actively investigating the incident from September 1st, 2019 in search for new evidence and testimony, and to undo this grave injustice. 

Over the coming months we will be working on linking all of the case files and briefs so the public can see the full picture—not just the improper and completely untrue “facts” presented in the Court of Appeals opinion.

Thank you all for the continued support! We will never stop fighting. An innocent person in prison does not bring justice, only another victim.