A US judge has overturned the conviction of a former Black Panther in the 1972 killing of a prison guard. Albert Woodfox was held in solitary confinement for more than 30 years. He and two other black prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary were convicted of stabbing to death guard Brent Miller in April 1972.
A US district judge approved a magistrate's recommendation the conviction be overturned. The magistrate said Woodfox was denied a fair second trial when a defense lawyer failed to object to a prosecutor's testimony about a witness' credibility. Woodfox's lawyer hopes he will be released without another trial.
