Sean Urbanski Appeals Murder Conviction For 2017 Fatal Stabbing Of Second Lieutenant Richard Collins III

3 years ago 339

October 14, 2021 astatine 9:06 pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A achromatic antheral serving a beingness sentence for stabbing a Black assemblage pupil to decease astatine a autobus halt astatine the University of Maryland has asked the state’s 2nd highest tribunal to propulsion retired his execution conviction.

WTOP-FM reports that Sean Urbanski’s attorneys reason that the proceedings justice shouldn’t person allowed jurors to spot oregon perceive astir racist memes that investigators recovered connected Urbanski’s telephone aft helium killed Lt. Richard Collins III successful May 2017. On Tuesday, they asked the Court of Special Appeals to bid a caller trial.

Prince George’s County prosecutors claimed the sidesplitting was a racially motivated hatred crime. Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Hill Jr. dismissed a hatred transgression complaint against Urbanski earlier a assemblage convicted him of first-degree execution successful December 2019.

But the justice said helium believed some contention and intoxicant were factors successful the killing. The justice allowed prosecutors to contiguous grounds that Urbanski saved astatine slightest six photographs of racist memes connected his cellphone and liked a Facebook radical called “Alt-Reich: Nation.”

Urbanski’s lawyers said prosecutors presented nary grounds that their lawsuit ever made racist statements oregon held racist views.

“Rather, the State maintained that due to the fact that (Urbanski) had racist memes connected his phone, and due to the fact that helium assaulted a Black man, it followed that helium had a racist motive and intent connected the nighttime of this crime,” defence attorneys wrote.

Prosecutors had sought the maximum condemnation of beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole, though Urbanski volition beryllium eligible for parole nether the judge’s sentence.

Collins was commissioned arsenic a 2nd lieutenant successful the U.S. Army soon earlier his death. He was days from graduating from Bowie State University, a historically Black college, and was celebrating with a person astatine bars connected the nighttime of his killing.

Urbanski had been enrolled astatine the University of Maryland’s College Park campus. He, too, was drinking with friends astatine bars earlier the killing.

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