QUESTION
Could a person be held in jail for murder with no physical evidence?
Asked on Dec 09th, 2013 on Criminal Law - South Carolina
More details to this question:
My boyfriend has been arrested for murder. I am an eye witness and I know that my boyfriend and I was in the house sleeping during the time of the crime. They have 1 witness on video that has changed his story 5 times. They have no physical evidence. They did find drugs in the house when they came with the search warrant but that's not what they came there for and there are several other names mentioned in the police reports that could have killed that guy it's like my statement don't even matter. He has been sitting in the county jail for 4 months for something he did not do. I need some legal advice
1 ANSWER
Your boyfriend definitely needs a lawyer. After four months he should have been provided with a public defender if he can't afford a private attorney. You need to find out what his bond was set at and then go to a bondsman to have him bailed out of jail. If he can't afford the bail money, then he could ask for a reconsideration of his bond, to see if the judge will lower it to an amount he could afford. At this point his case has not gone to trial, so whether there is sufficient evidence to convict him is not the question to ask. Perhaps he needs a preliminary hearing to have a judge look at the evidence to see if there is enough evidence for probable cause. If there is, the case can go forward. If not, the case may be dismissed and he could go free.
Answered on Dec 10th, 2013 at 3:28 PM