RALEIGH -- A panel of judges set him free after he served 17 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, but it appears the police aren’t done investigating Greg Taylor.
The Raleigh Police Department plans to look for DNA evidence by testing the clothes taken from Taylor during the original homicide investigation, according to his attorney.
Attorney Christine Mumma says that several weeks ago she asked the police department to return Taylor’s personal belongings, including his clothes and items taken from his home in 1991. On Monday, she said she was told the clothes would be held for further testing.
Taylor was convicted in 1993 for the murder of Jacquetta Thomas in Southeast Raleigh. After the N.C. Innocence Commission reviewed his case, a three-judge panel exonerated Taylor in February.
Mumma said that police want to test Taylor’s clothing, as well as that of Johnny Beck, who was with Taylor the night of the murder. Mumma sent an e-mail to the police department attorney, Ashby Ray, asking that the testing be expedited and the items returned as soon as possible.
“Greg’s been fighting for so long to prove his innocence that he didn’t want it to appear that he was afraid of having testing done,” she said.
The Raleigh police department has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In an e-mailed statement, Taylor expressed his frustration with the treatment he’s received from law enforcement officials since he was released.
“I thought my fight was over," Taylor wrote. "Shouldn’t it be over? For 19 years I begged them to test those clothes.”
