HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court has reinstated the murder conviction of a man who was brought to trial about 30 years after a fatal stabbing in Highland Park.
The court released its opinion Tuesday, reversing the ruling of the state appeals court which threw out the conviction of William Lyles Jr.
Lyles is serving a life sentence. He was accused of stabbing Andrew Weathers in Highland Park back in 1983, but he wasn’t charged until 2012.
The appeals court threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial, saying Lyles didn’t get a fair trial because the judge failed to tell jurors that they could consider evidence of his peaceful character. The appeals court said it was “crucial to his defense.”
The Wayne County prosecutor appealed that ruling.
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