Louisiana murder conviction may be tossed

BATON ROUGE, La., June 27 (UPI) -- A judge has called for the murder conviction of a Louisiana man who has been in solitary confinement for 36 years to be overturned.

Magistrate Judge Christine Noland said in a report the attorneys of former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, 61, unsuccessfully cross-examined the state's main witness "regarding the promises made to him in exchange for his testimony because such information was still being suppressed by the State at the time of the 1973 trial."

The State of Louisiana this week lodged an objection, rejecting accusations it kept information from the court that could have hurt the credibility of its witness, who had a previous rape conviction.

The state also denied that Woodfox's attorneys chose not to bring up important objections during his second trial in 1998, ABC reported Friday.

Woodfox has argued the state should have made it known that Hezekiah Brown, who was in jail at the time of the 1973 trial, was rewarded for saying in court that he saw Woodfox and three other prisoners kill prison guard Brent Miller in 1972.

Woodfox is recognized as one of the "Angola Three," a group of prisoners who were all in solitary confinement for nearly three decades.