NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Latest on a man who was imprisoned for 36 years before a federal judge threw out his murder conviction and life sentence for a slaying in New Orleans (all times local):
1:50 p.m.
A man imprisoned for 36 years is free again after a federal judge threw out his murder conviction and life sentence for a newspaper editor’s stabbing in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
John Floyd was freed Thursday following a court hearing.
District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office agreed to Floyd’s release while it appeals a judge’s earlier decision to toss out his 1982 conviction.
In May, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance ordered prosecutors to either retry Floyd or release him within 120 days.
Vance ruled in September that no reasonable juror would find Floyd guilty of murder based on all the evidence in the 1980 stabbing death of William Hines. Floyd had confessed to killing Hines and another man, but contends he was beaten to coerce a confession.
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1:15 p.m.
A federal judge has formally signed off on the release of a man who was imprisoned for 36 years before his murder conviction and life sentence were thrown out.
John Floyd was expected to be freed Thursday following the brief hearing at the federal courthouse in New Orleans.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance had previously ruled that no reasonable juror would find Floyd guilty of murder based on all the evidence in the November 1980 stabbing death of William Hines.
In May, Vance ordered prosecutors to either retry Floyd or release him within 120 days. Prosecutors agreed to Floyd’s release while they appeal the judge’s decision to toss out his 1982 conviction.
The judge’s Thursday order says Floyd will live in Carencro, Louisiana, on supervised release.
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3:30 a.m.
Freedom awaits a man imprisoned for 36 years before a federal judge threw out his murder conviction and life sentence for a newspaper employee’s stabbing in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
John Floyd’s attorneys expect him to be freed Thursday following a hearing at the federal courthouse in New Orleans. But the case doesn’t end there.
In May, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance ordered prosecutors to either retry Floyd or release him within 120 days. Prosecutors agreed to Floyd’s release while they appeal the judge’s decision to toss out his 1982 conviction.
Vance ruled last year that no reasonable juror would find Floyd guilty of murder based on all the evidence in the November 1980 stabbing death of William Hines.
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