Justin Johnson, who was convicted of killing Memphis rapper Young Dolph in 2021, appealed the ruling, and the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals recently upheld the conviction, which means his life sentence stands.
According to Fox 13 Memphis, Johnson, who used the moniker Straight Drop, sought a new trial, citing four issues from the trial, but the court denied all four. Johnson was given a life sentence for his role in the rapper’s killing. He was convicted after being charged with premeditated first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.
The first thing Johnson brought to the court’s attention was that there was insufficient evidence for the jury to convict him. The appeals court disagreed, saying that the video of Young Dolph’s murder, cell phone records, and surveillance video showed Johnson’s movements before and after the shooting. They also cited his accomplice in the murder, Cornelius Smith’s testimony at trial.
Johnson’s attorney appealed the trial judge’s decision to allow jurors to see two photos of the rapper’s corpse, saying that showing them the pictures prejudiced the jury. However, the appeals court ruled that both photos were admissible and did not prejudice the jury because of their graphic imagery.
The defendant felt that he should have been allowed to sit at his attorney’s table instead of behind them, but the court did not agree, citing that it was done for security reasons based on the case involving gang members and murder-for-hire.
Johnson raised the issue of a prosecutor’s comment during closing arguments about the decision not to allow a witness to testify. The appeals court said that his attorneys did not object to the statement during the trial, only after the fact. The court of appeals opinion states, “the evidence of defendant’s guilt was overwhelming, and the prosecutor’s comments were brief.”
The rapper, born Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., was shot to death while reportedly buying cookies at a local shop, Makeda’s Butter Cookies, on Nov. 17, 2021.
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