Feb 9, 2005 By Josh Krysak 2 min read

The state Superior Court upheld a life imprisonment sentence for George Junior Cameron who was twice convicted of first-degree murder in the stabling death of a Waynesburg man in 1999. Cameron appealed his second conviction in July of 2003 claiming that errors were made in the trial.

Cameron’s petition contended that the court erred by not property instructing jurors regarding penalties for murder and that the court should not have allowed the trial to continue after the prosecutor in the case elicited testimony implicating Cameron’s right to remain silent.

Cameron fatally stabbed David Cumberledge of Waynesburg Aug. 4, 1999, at an apartment along East High Street.

According to court records, Cameron allegedly stabbed Cumberledge as many as 16 times during a dispute involving Cameron’s marriage.

The Superior Court ruled Tuesday that the jury trial in 2003 was conducted properly and that Cameron’s claim regarding penalties was baseless. According to the ruling, the jury should “not concern itself with any result of its verdict but to come to its conclusion based solely and objectively on the evidence presented.”

The court also affirmed the earlier ruling in that Cameron was aware of his rights and was not intoxicated to the point of not understanding Miranda warnings read to him at the crime scene by responding officers.

Cameron’s first conviction, in March of 2000, was reversed in 2003 when the Superior Court ruled that an audiotape confession from Cameron should have been played during the trial.