Newport News man seeks DNA testing in 1994 murder conviction

Daily Press Reporter Ashley Speed Visits Deerfield Correction.

NEWPORT NEWS A Newport News man is asking a judge to order DNA testing in a murder he was convicted of nearly 20 years ago. The man says the results will prove he wasn't the killer.

Nathaniel Pierce, 44, filed a motion this month asking Newport News Circuit Judge David F. Pugh to order DNA testing for 23 shell casings and six items of clothing gathered as evidence in the shooting death of Steven Anthony Smith. Smith, 19, was gunned down on July 12, 1994.

Pierce, his brother Darryl Hunter and Reginald Fletcher were all convicted in the fatal shooting. Hunter and Fletcher also say they are innocent. Since the shooting, four witnesses have recanted their statements in affidavits, saying they lied about Pierce's involvement in the crime.

"They didn't have no evidence to prove I was even at the scene of the crime," Pierce said during a recent interview at Deerfield Correctional Facility in Southampton County. "All the guys' testimony was different. Nothing linked me to the crime. The only thing that linked me to the crime was a guy lying."

Smith was shot to death while sitting on a porch with friends at Newsome Park Apartments. Two other men were wounded during the shooting.

Pierce has been convicted in the crime by two separate juries.

"We're hoping it will show someone else's DNA is present on the evidence and that it's neither Mr. Pierce nor the victims," said Charles Haden, Pierce's appellate attorney. "It's not a sure thing. I asked for a number of items to be tested. They rarely grant that everything to be tested, but maybe just maybe he will go ahead and test some of these things."

Recantations

Pierce has maintained his innocence since being charged.

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Newport News man seeks DNA testing in 1994 murder conviction