Former Prince George’s County Council candidate Jerry Mathis was sentenced Friday to six months of probation and 100 hours of community service for election fraud charges and his request for a new trial was rejected.
County Circuit Court Judge Melanie M. Shaw Geter, who oversaw the trial, offered Mathis probation before judgment, given his long-standing ties to the community and lack of a criminal record, but he declined in favor of an opportunity to appeal the verdict. Discussing his community activism, Mathis cited his work on increasing the number of minority businesses receiving government contracts and his opposition to a proposed soccer stadium in Prince George’s County in 2009.
“I know my best chance is on appeal,” Mathis said Friday morning before the hearing. “At an appeals court, a panel of three judges will focus more on the constitutional issues that are the basis of my request for a new trial.”
Mathis filed a motion asking for a new trial, based on claims that some jurors fell asleep during the trial; a key witness, Charles Summers, gave contradictory testimony; and that prosecutors tried to put the burden of proof onto the defense in the case during closing arguments.
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