Sunday Special: 4 men convicted of murder of NBA star's grandfather to make case for their innocence

Nathaniel Arnold Cauthen, 33; and his brother, Rayshawn Denard Banner, 31, and two other men, Christopher Levon Bryant, 33, and Jermal Tolliver, 32, were convicted of the 2002 murder of Nathaniel Jones. Dorrell Brayboy, 31, was also convicted in Jones' death, but he was stabbed to death last year.

Jones, 61, a churchgoing gas station owner, was found dead in the carport of his Winston-Salem home. He had been beaten, gagged and bound. He was left to die from a heart arrhythmia brought on by the stress of the attack, according to an autopsy. At the time of their arrests and convictions, Cauthen, Banner, Bryant, Tolliver and Brayboy were teenagers. Banner was 14 at the time. The other four were 15.

Cauthen and Banner were convicted of first-degree murder and are both serving sentences of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Bryant, Tolliver and Brayboy were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in prison, along with a separate sentence of 13 to 16 months for common-law robbery. All three were released from prison.

It appears that some of the hearing will involve allegations that Winston-Salem police officers coerced the boys into making false statements.

After the five-day hearing, the commission could either find sufficient evidence of innocence to forward the case to a panel of three superior court judges who would ultimately determine if the defendants should be exonerated or the commission could simply close the case after determining that there isn't enough evidence for a change.

The commission usually reviews new evidence that was not presented in front of a jury and credible and verifiable evidence of innocence. It does not consider things such as procedural errors.

The commission has reviewed more than 2,700 claims and has only granted exonerations in 12 cases since it began operating in 2007.