She was convicted in her husband’s shooting death. Now she wants a new trial

A woman convicted of shooting her husband in the head, killing him, now wants a new trial and says she is innocent, and there is no DNA evidence to tie her to the murder.

This month, Teresa Ann McCracken-Hall filed a post-conviction rights request in Horry County court. The filing allows a convict to request a new trial because of flaws in the previous one.

McCracken-Hall, 54, provided a lengthy, handwritten report about errors in her 2013 case in the filing.

A jury convicted her of murder and a judge sentenced her to 35 years in prison. Police say on July 17, 2013, McCracken-Hall shot her husband, Steven Hall, in the head after drinking and arguing in the Myrtle Beach area. Neighbors said they heard gunshots, but police were not notified until the next day.

Officers later found Hall’s cellphone at Swing Bridge Park in the Socastee area and dive teams found the gun used to shoot him.

McCracken-Hall is at the Graham Correctional Institution outside of Columbia.

However, McCracken-Hall contends in her filing that she is innocent. There was no DNA evidence and lawyers misled the court about the conspiracy to kill Hall, she says.

“They falsely and deliberately deceived the court as to who is or who committed the murder of the deceased,” McCracken-Hall wrote.

McCracken-Hall also argued her lawyer was ineffective for several reasons, including not taking her to a preliminary hearing.

The murder trial happened nearly three years after the shooting, which McCracken-Hall says violates her rights. Any murder trial that does not occur within two years must be heard for a lesser offense, she argues.

McCracken-Hall also accused the police of misconduct by not reading her Miranda Rights. The interview led to her arrest and her being held without bond for 90 days.

This story was originally published December 27, 2018 at 4:10 PM.