Judge denies post-conviction petition by Unjolee Moore for second time; attorney says he plans to appeal

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Unjolee Moore makes his way into Judge Don Poole's courtroom in the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018 in Chattanooga.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Unjolee Moore makes his way into Judge Don Poole's courtroom in the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018 in Chattanooga.

A judge has dismissed a 33-year-old man's post-conviction petition in a 2010 robbery-turned-murder for a second time, but Unjolee Moore's advocates say they will continue to fight.

In a 39-page memorandum issued May 21, Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole ruled Moore did not receive ineffective and harmful representation at his 2013 trial for first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Specifically, Poole said Moore's claim that a Chattanooga police investigator beat him into a confession came too late and that cell tower records on the night in question could've incriminated Moore, since they didn't match one of his alibis.

But Moore's Nashville-based attorney, Daniel Murphy, said Thursday that "we still intend to move forward" and appeal the decision.

All of this goes back to the late-night hours of June 28, 2010, when a knock brought Bernard Hughes outside as Timothy Westfield, Cindy Cross and Myra Collier were inside his British Woods apartment. Hughes fought with at least two men and Westfield came out to help but was knocked unconscious. When Westfield came to, Hughes was dead from a .45-caliber slug in his temple and a .38-caliber slug in his chest, and Westfield had been shot in the hand.

Police ultimately arrested four men: Steven Ballou, who pleaded guilty to a different robbery after his murder charge was dismissed; Harold Butler; who is serving a life sentence amid appeals; Moore; and John Simpson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder and received a 25-year sentence and 8-year sentence, respectively.

Murphy is not the only one continuing to fight. Moore's supporters with Concerned Citizens for Justice, a social justice group, issued a statement Thursday reiterating that no eyewitnesses or DNA placed Moore at the scene - only a confession in a case marked by police misconduct.

They also said Poole should have recused himself from the case because of two conflicts: One, Poole's son, Chris Poole, an assistant United States attorney, prosecuted Moore in federal court in 2004 for carjacking. And two, Poole previously represented one of Moore's appointed trial lawyers in her divorce.

Poole, who is at a judicial conference, could not be reached for comment Thursday. But the Concerned Citizens for Justice statement offered no evidence of Poole being influenced by family or of Poole's former client being substantially involved in Moore's representation while Poole represented her, which rules 2.4 and 2.11 in the state's Code of Judicial Conduct call for.

Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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