Conviction Review Unit wins judge s order freeing Taron Hill of Camden
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Taron Hill murder conviction vacated in NJ
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NJ homicide conviction overturned after new evidence uncovered
By MIKE CATALINI article
TRENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey man serving a 60-year-sentence for a 2004 double homicide had his conviction overturned by a state judge Friday after the attorney general s office uncovered evidence exonerating him, officials said Friday.
Taron Hill, 34, was convicted in 2006 on two counts of murder and other weapons charges in the September 2004 shooting deaths of Robin Battie and Tinesha Lewis in Camden. He was sentenced to 60 years without the possibility of parole.
On Friday, state Superior Court Judge Edward McBride Jr. granted a request by the attorney general s office to vacate Hill s conviction, according to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
It cited no specific evidence, but noted multiple shortcomings with Hill’s prosecution.
For instance, an eyewitness identified Hill as the gunman through the use of a single photograph, the statement said.
“Although this evidence was admitted at trial, it is not an investigative best practice under current identification procedures,” it noted.
And two jailhouse informants corroborated the eyewitness identification, but later recanted their testimony.
“At the time, use of jailhouse informant testimony was subject to fewer safeguards,” said the statement, which noted higher standards took effect in October 2020.
The murder weapon was not recovered and no forensic evidence, such as fingerprints or DNA, tied Hill to the crime.