Martez D. Matthews v. State of Tennessee

The petitioner, Martez D. Matthews, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.  His conviction was affirmed following his direct appeal.  State v. Deangelo M. Moody and Martez D. Matthews, No. M2011-01930-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 1932718, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 9, 2013), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Oct. 17, 2013).  Subsequently, he filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis.  The basis for the petition was the claim by a co-defendant, who pled guilty to second degree murder for the killing which resulted in the petitioner’s conviction, that the petitioner was not involved in the crime.  Following an evidentiary hearing at which the co-defendant testified that the petitioner did not kill the victim, the court concluded the witness was not truthful in his testimony.  Accordingly, the court denied the petition.  Following our review, we affirm the order denying the petition.