Brady v. Maryland

The defendant and his companion, Boblit, were found guilty of murder in the first degree and were sentenced to death. Their trials were separate, with the defendant being tried first. At his trial, the defendant took the stand and admitted his participation in the crime, but he claimed that Boblit did the actual killing. The defendant’s counsel conceded that his client was guilty of murder in the first degree, asking only that the jury return that verdict “without capital punishment.” Prior to the trial, the defendant’s counsel had requested the prosecution to allow him to examine Boblit’s out-of-court statements. Several of those statements were shown to him; but one dated July 9, 1958, in which Boblit confessed to the actual homicide, was not provided to the defense and did not come to the defendant’s attention until after he had been tried, convicted, sentenced, and his conviction had been affirmed. The defendant requested a new trial based on the newly discovered evidence.