Local News
Case of man sentenced to 50 years in DWI goes before state's top court
An appeals court ordered a new trial for Kenneth Maready in January, saying that previous DWI convictions should not have been used as evidence against him.
Posted — UpdatedOn Sept. 8, the North Carolina State Supreme Court will hear an appeal in the case of Kenneth Maready, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison for causing a wreck while driving drunk.
An appeals court ordered a new trial for Maready in January, saying that previous DWI convictions should not have been used as evidence against him.
The court said prosecutors "allowed foregoing evidence to establish malice” in Maready's first trial for his role in the death of Kay Stokes, 61, in 2005.
Maready's blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit in February 2005, Durham police said, when he stole a car, fled from deputies who had pulled him over and crashed into a pickup truck Stokes was driving.
At the time of the crash, Maready had a revoked driver's license and six DWI convictions on his record.
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