Suge Knight’s murder trial was delayed by a judge on Friday.
The 50-year-old Death Row Records co-founder was involved in a lethal hit-and-run on January 29, which resulted in severe injuries for Cle ‘Bone’ Sloan and the death of 55-year-old man Terry Carter.
Following a series of preliminary hearings, in April a judge ordered there was sufficient evidence for Knight to stand trial for murder.
However murder proceedings have been delayed, as the Associated Press reports the hip hop mogul has hired a new attorney.
Thomas Mesereau, the lawyer who successfully defended late singer Michael Jackson against child molestation charges, is now representing Knight.
And in light of his new appointment, Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen has delayed proceedings to provide Mesereau the time he needs to file his own paperwork and catch up with key facts of the case. Knight’s team previously filed a motion to dismiss charges of murder, hit-and-run, and attempted murder, and this dismissal motion will be heard on July 7.
Knight’s new attorney was quick to call attention to his client’s treatment in jail during the Friday May 29 hearing.
He claimed the rap CEO was being denied phone calls and visits with loved ones.
"I don't think he's being treated humanely," Mesereau told the judge.
He is the fourth lawyer to have represented Knight since his arrest.
“I am convinced he is innocent,” Mesereau noted outside of court, before declining to comment further.
Knight’s defence throughout preliminary hearings has been he drove erratically in an attempt to escape an assault from Sloan and Carter, claiming he feared for his life because both men had guns.
