The Brief
- A DeKalb County judge has rejected convicted killer Richard Merritt’s request for a new trial – a long-shot attempt by Merritt to get out of a life prison sentence.
- A jury convicted Merritt, once a prominent Smyrna attorney, of the brutal beating and stabbing death of his own mother, Shirley Merritt, 77, in 2019.
- In two hearings held in November, Merritt argued that his trial attorney failed to do his job when he allowed Merritt’s ex-wife to disparage him on the stand and failed to call other witnesses that could have helped his defense.
- Much of Merritt’s argument for a new trial centered around cartoons anonymously delivered to his mother, ex-wife and former defense attorney, when Merritt faced criminal charges in Cobb County of ripping off clients. But his former defense attorney said in court he suspects Merritt created the cartoons himself.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – The DeKalb County judge who presided over ex-attorney Richard Merritt’s murder trial has ruled, “Richard Merritt is not entitled to a new trial.”
Merritt argued in November that his defense attorney failed him so badly, he should get a second chance to prove he didn’t kill his own mother in 2019.
Judge Courtney Johnson’s decision isn’t surprising and means Merritt must take his case to the Georgia Supreme Court if he wants to appeal.…