PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia judge has vacated the murder conviction of a man who spent nearly three decades on death row, citing prosecutorial misconduct.
Orlando Maisonet was convicted of murder at a trial prosecuted by Roger King, who died in 2016. Philly.com reports Maisonet was acquitted in the death of Jorge Figueroa last week, with Judge J. Scott O’Keefe finding prosecutorial misconduct and that Maisonet had ineffective counsel.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office supported Maisonet’s request to vacate his conviction, though it did not concede there was misconduct. Both Maisonet’s lawyers and the district attorney’s office agreed it was prejudicial that King showed the jury a clip from “America’s Most Wanted” that included a dramatization of the alleged crime.
Prosecutors have not decided if they will retry Maisonet.
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Information from: Philly.com, http://www.philly.com/
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