NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ A three-judge appellate panel will hear arguments on whether the state must retry a former Black Panther for the 1972 killing of a prison guard.
The Tuesday morning hearing at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal is for Albert Woodfox, whose conviction was overturned by U.S. District Judge James Brady. The judge found that the trial was tainted by mistakes made by one of Woodfox's lawyers. State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office appealed.
Woodfox remains behind bars because the 5th Circuit granted the state's motion to have him remain in custody.
Woodfox and Herman Wallace were convicted of the April 17, 1972, killing of guard Brent Miller. Both were in solitary confinement from 1972 until last March, when a magistrate recommended overturning Woodfox's conviction. Wallace also remains in custody.