Man convicted of 1979 St. Aug’s murder will get a new chance to prove his innocence

James Blackmon, a 65-year-old man serving a life sentence for the 1979 murder of a St. Augustine’s College student, will get a new hearing on his innocence.

Blackmon was arrested in 1983 for the stabbing of Helena Payton, who was found in the sixth-floor bathroom of Latham Hall, a women’s dormitory.

Raleigh police had no suspects at first but arrested Blackmon in 1983 based on statements he made while a patient at Dorothea Dix Hospital, court records said. He led detectives to a wooded area where a bloody garment had been recovered. Later, he showed detectives a crime-scene toilet stall and said, “This is where it happened,” washing his hands in a sink.

He admitted “in essence” to the killing during tape-recorded sessions with police and later pleaded guilty.

The state Innocence Inquiry Commission has determined there is enough evidence of Blackmon’s innocence to merit a new hearing, a Monday news release said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin will appoint a panel of three Wake County Superior Court judges.

Blackmon is an inmate at Maury Correctional Institute in Greene County, where records show a long list of violations for fighting and other infractions.

At the time of his 1983 conversations with police, Blackmon was hospitalized at Dorothea Dix four times, N.C. Court of Appeals records said. He was twice diagnosed with atypical psychosis.

In its 1989 review of the case, the Court of Appeals found conflicting evidence about his mental state and upheld the judgment in his case.

Created by the General Assembly in 2006, the state Innocence Inquiry Commission investigates claims of factual innocence after defendants are convicted.

Josh Shaffer: 919-829-4818, @joshshaffer08

This story was originally published November 19, 2018 at 3:04 PM.