PORTLAND, Maine — A man convicted of murdering a South Portland woman wants a new trial.
Foster Bates is serving life in prison for killing and sexually assaulting Tammy Dickson of South Portland in 1994.
Bates was found guilty of killing and raping Dickson years later in 2002. He said he is innocent, claiming he didn’t get a fair trial because of his race. He returned to court Monday morning to try to convince a judge that he deserves a new trial.
Prosecutors in the case said Dickson was bound, gagged, raped and strangled in her apartment in South Portland in 1994. At the time, Bates lived in the same building.
Years later, Bates was convicted and eventually sentenced to life in prison without parole after a DNA sample he gave came back as a match after it was retested with better technology.
He told the court he was innocent and that he felt he wasn’t getting a fair trial because of his skin color.
Jurors said race wasn’t a factor in their decision. Bates and his legal team told people they’d fight the court ruling with an appeal.
The motion hearing to request a new trial was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Monday at the Cumberland County district court house.