Murder conviction overturned after 20 years

DETROIT (AP) - A judge has thrown out the murder conviction of a Detroit man who has been in prison for 20 years, after the University of Michigan Law School raised major doubts about evidence in the case.

Judge Shannon Walker set aside Lamarr Monson's second-degree murder conviction Monday. Prosecutors could appeal the decision or take Monson to a second trial.

The law school's Innocence Clinic presented new evidence, including fingerprints of another man on a bloody toilet tank lid. A witness with crucial information also stepped forward.

Police say Monson confessed to stabbing 12-year-old Christina Brown in 1996. But attorney Caitlin Plummer says the confession was wildly inaccurate. The clinic says the cause of death was a massive head injury, and it points to the toilet tank lid found near the body.

Published: Wed, Feb 01, 2017