Dad Charged With Telling Daughter to Lie

A man accused of telling his 18-year-old daughter to lie on the witness stand when asked about the schoolyard murder of a 10-year-old boy was charged with witness intimidation.

Prosecutors said Devonzo Dawson told his daughter in open court and within earshot of court personnel and others, "Say what I told you to say, that you don't remember nothing."

Taniesha Wiggins, who was 16 at the time of the February 2004 slaying, had told police during interviews that she heard the defendants make incriminating statements, and that one had laughed about the boy's shooting.

When she took the stand last month, Wiggins said she could not remember any details of the shooting, at one point telling a prosecutor, "You can't make me say nothing I don't want to say."

Dawson, 35, was arrested Monday on charges of solicitation to commit perjury, witness intimidation, hindering prosecution and obstruction of justice. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 36 years in prison.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042500568.html

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