LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — For a second time in just over two years, Mathew Morales’ request for a new trial has been denied.
Morales, who in February 2016 was convicted of first-degree murder — and sentenced to life imprisonment — for the killing of Xavier Garriga two years prior, argued that his trial lawyer was inefficient, specifying that the lawyer should have objected to certain pieces of testimony and that some testimony should not have been allowed, particularly about his tattoo, “Respect Few Fear None,” according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled recently that the 29-year-old’s claims were without merit, the DA’s Office says.
In his first request for relief, Morales claimed that the jury’s verdict went against what the evidence showed.
That argument was denied by the state Appeals Court, which wrote that it’s role is not to “reweigh the evidence” juries consider at trial.
