Chris Perri convinces Appeal Courts to consider New Trial for Pitonyak

The News of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Grant of Certificate of Appealability

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Colton Pitonyak and his attorneys the opportunity to appeal the issue of a Brady Violation. The Court that stated “the impact of the Brady Violation is perplexing and the claim deserves further review.”

What Does This Mean?

Brady Violation

A Brady Violation occurs when the prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence to the defense deprives the defendant of a fair trial.

Overturn of Prior Federal Denial

Prior to applying for the right to be heard at the 5th Circuit Federal level, Chris first had to exhaust all claims at the state court level. The state courts denied Chris’ request and stated that “the admission [of Hall’s 2005 confession] would have no reasonable impact on the trial”. Chris then filed his writ in the federal district court, but they denied him as well. That didn’t stop Chris from persevering forward to the 5th Circuit Federal level, where Chris argued that the “federal court was woefully misguided” about the law. The federal district court had denied Pitonyak the right to appeal the case to the 5th Circuit, so Chris first had to get the 5th Circuit’s permission to hear the appeal. After hearing Chris’ motion, the 5th Circuit agreed that reasonable jurists could debate whether Pitonyak had demonstrated a Brady violation, which means that Chris overturned the federal court’s initial denial of his right to appeal the case.

Possibility of New Trial

What this all comes down to is that Chris’ request convinced judges at the 5th Circuit Court level to allow Chris to argue on Pitonyak’s behalf for a new trial that would include the previously withheld evidence of Laura Hall’s confession. The Evidence Withheld from Pitonyak Background Mystery and sensation surround this case, which has amounted to several TV documentaries and national interviews trying to tease apart an understanding of what really happened.

What we do know for sure is that in August of 2005, Jennifer Cave was found shot to death and chopped up into pieces, and left in the bathroom and in trash bags of Pitonyak’s apartment. After the incident, Pitonyak and Laura Hall fled to Mexico, where they were arrested by Los Federales and returned to U.S. Custody.

Although Pitonyak received a conviction for murder and Hall received only a ten year sentence and conviction for tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension, there has always been a major question of who really murdered Jennifer Cave. Pitonyak reports that on this night he was under the influence of xanax and alcohol to such an extent that he formed no memory of what happened. In Texas, voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a crime, but it can leave a lot unknown. The prosecution struggled to come up with a motive for why Pitonyak would want Cave dead, but what is known is that Pitonyak had a romantic relationship with both Cave and Hall.

The New Evidence In 2009, when Joe and Chris began working on Pitonyak’s appeal, they came across a record from Hall’s jail stay that indicated two other inmates informed a counselor that Hall was “acting crazy” and had confessed to killing Cave. Since then, these two women have provided sworn statements that this was in fact true. Others have come forward as well to say that Hall confessed to being the killer.

What Chris and Joe are trying to argue is that if this information had not been withheld from the defense team, then it could have been used at trial, giving the jury a lot more to chew on when deciding Pitonyak’s innocence or guilt.

Why This Matters

We live in a country that says we each have the right to a fair trial and to be seen as innocent until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt. If evidence this substantial was withheld from the criminal defense team, then there is an issue of personal liberty at hand. Pitonyak was not allowed the fair fight we have all been guaranteed. We are left in the dark about why a young man is serving a 55-year sentence for a crime we can’t honestly say he committed.

What’s Next

Chris and Joe have now been given permission to file a comprehensive brief to be turned in next month. If the 5th Circuit finds that the Brady evidence undermines confidence in the jury’s verdict, then a new trial in Austin will be ordered for Pitonyak.