Kewon White wants a new trial in the MO3 murder, saying a juror slept through hours of testimony.

Sleeping-juror claims get filed after a lot of convictions, and most of them lose, because the defense has to show more than a few nodding minutes after lunch. What makes this one worth watching is the record. The motion says both sides raised the problem with the judge during trial, more than once, and that the juror kept falling asleep after breaks. If that is documented in the transcript, it is a real issue on appeal. For now it is a request, and the life sentence stands.

Lawyers for Kewon White, the man convicted of capital murder in the 2020 killing of Dallas rapper MO3, are asking for a new trial because they say one of the jurors slept through much of the testimony, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported. The motion alleges jury misconduct and argues White was denied his statutory and state constitutional right to a trial by a jury of twelve. CBS News Texas also reported the filing. It is separate from the appeal White filed at the end of September, which FOX 4 reported began with a claim that he cannot afford his trial transcript and could take up to 18 months.

The motion says the juror was seen sleeping almost every day of the September trial, for several minutes at a time, before waking and falling asleep again, FOX 4 reported. It says both the prosecution and the defense repeatedly raised the issue with Texas Criminal District Court Judge Chika Anyiam, and that the judge either did nothing or gave the jury a short break. "The juror in question resumed sleeping after most break," the motion states, according to FOX 4. It also describes a day when the juror was slumped over and appeared ill. She said she was OK to continue, and the judge later broke for the day after talking with both sides.

"The juror's sleep was open and obvious. She would slouch down and lean back in her chair with her head tilted back, or her head would drop forward. While she was in that state, she was not watching the witness, the attorneys, or the exhibits being displayed," defense attorney Bree West said in a statement included with the motion. Co-counsel Myra McIntosh said she had seen jurors doze for a few minutes in other trials, "However, in those trials, the court took a small break, advised the juror to stand up and stretch, go get a Coke or a coffee, or released the jury early for the day." She said this was "a few hours of continually on and off sleeping for several minutes with the juror clearly missing material evidence from material witnesses."

FOX 4 reported that Anyiam has 75 days to act. She can grant the motion, deny it, set a hearing to take evidence, or let the deadline pass without ruling. Prosecutors have said MO3 was shot 11 times and chased down on Interstate 35 in 2020 in a murder-for-hire plot organized by rapper Yella Beezy, whose legal name is Markies Conway. In September, jurors convicted White of capital murder and he was sentenced to life in prison after jurors saw video of the shooting and heard testimony, including evidence of an alleged payment from Conway to White.

Conway has pleaded not guilty to capital murder and denies any involvement, FOX 4 reported. His trial was pushed back a month so his lawyers could get a copy of White's trial transcript and is now set to begin Oct. 26. A third man, Devin Brown, is also charged with capital murder. Conway and Brown are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. White's conviction stands unless Anyiam or an appeals court says otherwise.