A recent decision by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to reduce the sentence length and reduce two convictions for a 31-year-old man who was charged with committing a murder he didn't do should make people take notice about how prosecutors can try to trump up charges that shouldn't be made.

In January 2009, the man was arrested for allegedly being involved in a botched drug deal that resulted in the death of a 58-year-old woman from Baltimore County. The woman was an innocent bystander who was shot by a stray bullet and killed. The man did not shoot the gun that killed the woman, yet he was charged and convicted of second-degree murder, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He received a 35-year prison sentence for his supposed crimes.

But according to the second-highest court in the state, the man did not distribute the marijuana that he purchased. Due to this, his conspiracy conviction was dropped. And without a conspiracy conviction, he could no longer be held accountable for the death of the woman.

The three-judge panel also stated that the 31-year-old cannot be retried. The case may be appealed to the state Supreme Court if the attorney general's office chooses to pursue a retrial.

On the day of the incident, the man allegedly attempted to purchase four pounds of marijuana from a 28-year-old man. The first man used fake money to make the purchase, which caused the seller to begin firing his gun at the buyer. The seller was convicted of murder and other charges and was sentenced to 95 years in prison.

The buyer's other conviction -- possession of marijuana with intent to distribute -- still stands. His 35-year sentence has been shortened to five years and he will likely be released in the coming years as he has been in custody since January 2009.

But with no proof that the buyer was going to turn around and sell the marijuana, there is no proof that he was conspiring to distribute the drug. And there was no basis to try him with murder. The outcome shows why the appeals process is so valuable.

Source: The Baltimore Sun, "Appeals court overturns murder conviction over drug charge," Peter Hermann, Feb. 6, 2012