COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adam Coy, the former Columbus police officer convicted of murder after shooting an unarmed Black man in 2020, is requesting a new trial. His defense team has filed a motion alleging that prosecutors withheld evidence favorable to his defense, violating his constitutional right to due process.
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In a motion filed Monday in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, attorneys Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens claim that prosecutors failed to disclose an expert witness who concluded that Coy’s use of deadly force was justified. The defense asserts that the witness, who was dismissed after providing his opinion, had concluded that Coy was right to shoot 47-year-old Andre Hill, who was holding a ring of keys that Coy mistook for a silver revolver.
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During the trial, the prosecution presented an expert witness, Seth Stoughton, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, who testified that Coy’s actions were unreasonable and did not justify the use of deadly force. The defense, however, argues that the state’s concealment of the expert opinion undermined the integrity of the trial and prejudiced Coy’s defense.
“The State’s withholding of this expert witness it consulted and subsequently fired upon hearing that he had not produced a report completely undermines the integrity of the judicial process,” the defense argued in the motion. “Such actions prejudiced Adam Coy and compromised the pursuit of justice.”
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A spokesperson for the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office responded on Tuesday, saying the state plans to address the defense motion but declined to comment further.
Coy was convicted by a jury on November 4 of murder, felonious assault, and reckless homicide. He is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole and is scheduled for sentencing on November 25.
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In his closing argument, Franklin County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Pierson emphasized the testimony of Stoughton, condemning Coy’s actions. “For whatever reason, a reason none of us may ever, ever know, he decided to shoot Andre Hill four times,” Pierson told the jury. “There’s no justification, there was no reasonableness.”
During the trial, Coy testified that he feared for his life, believing Hill was pointing a silver revolver at him when he stepped out of a garage on December 22, 2020. However, the object Coy believed to be a gun turned out to be a set of silver keys. Police body camera footage shown to the jury revealed Hill was holding an illuminated cell phone in his other hand.
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“I thought I was going to die,” Coy said, tearfully explaining that he acted in self-defense.
The defense’s motion for a new trial included an affidavit from Jamie Borden, a body camera and use-of-force expert. Borden stated that he consulted with Pierson about the case and expressed that Coy’s conduct seemed reasonable given the perceived threat. However, after informing the state that he had not yet drafted his report, Borden said he was informed that his services were no longer needed.
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In May 2021, the City of Columbus reached a $10 million wrongful death settlement with Hill’s family, the largest such settlement in the city’s history.
