State v. Matthews

The Respondent, George Matthews, pled guilty in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on December 5, 2000, to murder in the second degree and use of a handgun in the commission of a felony or crime of violence. On January 11, 2001, the court imposed consecutive sentences of thirty years for murder and ten years (five without possibility of parole) for the handgun violation. In 2007, Matthews filed a pro se motion for new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence, which was denied without a hearing, and Matthews appealed to the Court of Special Appeals, contending, inter alia, that under…