Video: For Second Time, Man Gets New Trial in Shooting Case
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LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — For the second time, a Vernon, Alabama man wins a new trial after being convicted of manslaughter.
The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that 55-year-old James Newell deserves a new trial because a Lowndes County judge allowed an expert witness — former state pathologist Steven Hayne — to speculate during his testimony rather than rely on fact.
Newell was accused of murder in the May 2008 shooting death of Adrian Boyette during an argument outside the Slab House bar in northeastern Lowndes County. He was convicted of manslaughter in 2009 but the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial. In that ruling, the court said the jury should have considered the state’s Castle Doctrine self-defense rule.
He was convicted again of manslaughter in 2012 and sentenced to 15 years. The latest ruling by the state Court of Appeals means he’ll get a new trial.
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