Winston-Salem Five Convictions Overturned in 2002 Murder Case

Four men known as the Winston-Salem Five had their convictions overturned in the 2002 murder of Nathaniel Jones, grandfather of NBA star Chris Paul, after more than two decades in prison. Key developments included a 2025 evidentiary hearing that presented new DNA evidence and the recantation of a key witness, Jessica Black, who testified she was pressured by police to give false testimony. Judge Robert Broadie dismissed the charges with prejudice against Rayshawn Banner and Nathaniel Cauthen, brothers who were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole as teenagers. The convictions of Christopher Bryant, Jermal Tolliver, and the late Dorrell Brayboy, who were convicted of second-degree murder and common-law robbery and had been released from prison, were also cleared. The case had been revisited multiple times following U.S. Supreme Court rulings that prohibited mandatory life sentences for juveniles and required retroactive application. The exoneration marks a significant legal victory, as the judge ruled the errors in the original trial were so egregious that the case was closed permanently.