Despite Disagreeing with Appeal Ruling, Judge Releases Convicted Murderer After 10 Years

By Graham Krewinghaus [former] - November 16, 2022
Appeal | Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

After the DC Court of Appeals ruled that a man convicted of murder be released, DC Superior Court Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring suspended his sentence during a hearing on Nov. 15. However, she said she did not agree with the finding that he was safe to return to the community.

Lamont Terry, 58, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery on Nov. 14, 2014. He was initially charged on Feb. 14, 2012, in connection with the death of 27-year-old Chet Matthews on the 1100 block of Ohio Drive, SW on May 25, 1992. 

The case had gone cold for almost 20 years when a witness came forward and confessed to having helped Terry rob Matthews and witnessing Terry shoot Matthews with a shotgun, consistent with the murder weapon determined by the 1992 autopsy.

Terry was sentenced to 15 years to life for murder and an additional five years to 15 years for attempted armed robbery. He was held in prison from 2014 to 2022, when the DC Court of Appeals granted his appeal, mandating that Judge Josey-Herring suspend the rest of his sentence and release him.

On Tuesday, Judge Josey-Herring said that although she will comply with the order, she still believed him a danger to the community and was uncertain about the appellate court’s finding that he had been sufficiently rehabilitated.

“That’s easy to say when it’s not your family member who is dead,” she said.

Judge Josey-Herring also discussed the facts of the case, including that he walked free for almost 20 years despite the circumstances of the incident.

Terry pulled Matthews out of the car he was riding with a woman, according to court documents, then shot him while he was already on his knees.

“I thought it was a senseless murder, and I still do,” Judge Josey-Herring said.

The prosecutor said the judge could still find that Terry was not qualified for release because she could argue he didn’t meet the threshold of having an “extraordinary and compelling case for release.” 

However, Judge Josey-Herring responded that with the mandate from the Court of Appeals, the Tuesday hearing was not the time to litigate the facts of the case.

Judge Josey-Herring resentenced Terry on both counts, but suspended the new sentence, leaving him on supervised probation for five years.

“Thank you. I can’t express it enough—thank you,” Terry told Judge Josey-Herring.

It will take three days for Terry to be processed out of the jail. He will also have to drug test upon request for six months, pay $200 no later than January 2023 and register as a life-time gun offender.

As the hearing concluded and Terry was brought out of the courtroom, Judge Josey-Herring turned her attention to members in the audience who had been disruptive, asking them to “maintain your composure so that I can do my job, thank you.”