Supreme Court Rejects New Trial

{Charleston, West Virginia}…Friday, the West Virginia Supreme Court reversed a decision to grant a new trial for David Lee Hurt, a man convicted in July 1998 of participating in a 1995 killing. Hurt was accused of acting as a lookout when Freddie Lester was fatally shot in the back of the head by Michael Hopkins during a robbery at a Rich Oil gas station in Bluefield. Hurt’s first trial in Mercer County ended in a hung jury, and a second trial was moved to Pocahontas County, where he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with mercy. Greenbrier Circuit Judge Joseph C. Pomponio overturned Hurt's conviction last year, ruling his counsel at trial was ineffective. The state's high court found that the lawyer's failure to tell Hurt that he did not have to testify was not a violation of his constitutional rights. The justices also said Hurt's decision to testify likely did not affect the trial's outcome.