Man behind contract killing in Houston County seeks new trial

Did the confessed triggerman in a 2014 Houston County slaying recant his testimony against the man convicted of hiring him?

If so, is that sufficient grounds for a new trial for former Cordele trucking owner Devasko Lewis?

Those are key questions before Superior Court Judge George Nunn after a hearing Monday on Lewis’ motion for a new trial. The judge took the matter under advisement.

Lewis, 37, was convicted in 2015 by a Houston County jury of murder for hiring Jamarcus Clark to kill federal witness Corey Daniels. But Clark killed Daniels’ nephew Kerry Glenn by mistake behind Daniels’ home near Perry in January 2014.

Lewis was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus 10 years for Glenn’s killing. The federal case against Lewis was dismissed against him based on the life sentence.

Clark, who testified against Lewis, is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

At Monday’s hearing, Clark refused to say whether he had lied on the witness stand or whether he was the author of a letter recanting his testimony against Lewis.

“I’m not answering no questions,” Clark said.

The June 2015 letter was mailed from the Smith State Prison in Glennville, where Clark is incarcerated, to Lewis’ attorney, Franklin J. Hogue of Macon.

The letter bears Clark’s name and the signature appears identical to signatures on court documents signed by Clark included in Superior Court records, Hogue said.

But prosecutor Dan Bibler argued that the prison letter cannot be authenticated, and even if it were authenticated, there is no way of knowing whether Clark authored it or signed it under duress.

Laura F. Hogue, Lewis’ other attorney, argued that he would not have been convicted without Clark’s testimony, and that the letter was sufficient grounds for a new trial.

But Bibler argued that even if the letter was authentic, other evidence at trial was sufficient to have convicted Lewis. He said the jury’s verdict should stand.

Nunn is expected to issue a written ruling.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Man behind contract killing in Houston County seeks new trial."