NAACP Denies Filing Lawsuit On Behalf Of C Miller

The NAACP has denied filing a lawsuit on behalf of Corey Miller, who is appealing a 2nd degree murder conviction to the Louisiana Supreme Court. “The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has not authorized a lawsuit on behalf of Corey Miller,” NAACP Interim General Counsel Angela Ciccolo told AllHipHop.com. “While the […]

The NAACP has denied

filing a lawsuit on behalf of Corey Miller, who is appealing a 2nd degree murder

conviction to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

“The National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has not authorized a lawsuit on

behalf of Corey Miller,” NAACP Interim General Counsel Angela Ciccolo

told AllHipHop.com. “While the NAACP seeks to promote and guarantee the

civil and constitutional rights of African-Americans and other people of color,

approval for such a suit has not been given from the National Office. Such approval

is required before suits proceed in the name of NAACP.”

Initial reports suggested

that the NAACP was involved with the lawsuit, which was filed last Wednesday

(April 6th).

While the lawsuit was filed

by NAACP Louisiana chapter President Ernest Johnson on Miller’s behalf,

the organization has not formally endorsed Miller or his complaints.

The confusion apparently

started when Johnson held a news conference last week and released a statement

with letter head reading “NAACP Louisiana State Conference.”

The new release also contained

several references to the NAACP and Johnson’s office number.

Johnson denied any wrong

doing and said that he filed the lawsuit as a private attorney and not as NAACP

chapter President.

Miller’s publicist

Chiquita Simms told Louisiana newspaper The Advocate that Johnson approved the

press release.

“Mr. Johnson requested

that I use his title in the release,” Simms said. “We’re saddened

by this.”

The lawsuit was filed in

Baton Rouge and seeks to overturn an earlier ruling, which denied Miller a retrial

in the 2nd degree murder case, for which he is serving a life sentence.

Miller, who recently changed

his rap moniker from “C-Murder” to “C-Miller,” was convicted

in September of 2003 for shooting a 16-year-old to death in a new defunct Jefferson

Parish nightclub in January of 2002.

Miller has denied being

the triggerman. His attorney claims he didn’t receive a fair trial due

to the prosecutions alleged efforts to bolster their witnesses’ credibility,

by expunging some of their criminal records.

Miller’s first appeal

was rejected in March. Miller’s attorney said the refusal to grant his

client a second trial was politically motivated.

Weeks earlier,

Miller released a video filmed while serving out his life sentence and released

a new album, The Truest Sh*t I Ever Said, arousing the anger of local

authorities.