Commonwealth v. Latimore

After a trial by jury in 1976, the defendant, Willie R. Latimore, was convicted of murder in the first degree. We affirmed the conviction. See Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 679 (1979) (hereinafter Latimore I). In 1992, the defendant’s motion for a new trial on the ground of constitutionally erroneous jury instructions was allowed. In 1993, his motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground of unreasonable delay was denied. On retrial, the defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree. The defendant appealed. We granted his application for direct appellate review. He claims…