ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois appeals court has upheld a lower court’s granting of a new trial to a man who spent 23 years in prison for a 1993 murder he says he did not commit.
Patrick Pursley of Rockford was convicted of the 1993 murder of 22-year-old Andy Ascher by jurors relying on an expert’s testimony. The man said markings on bullets and shell casings from the crime scene proved they could only have come from Pursley’s gun.
More than two decades later, technological advances have caused the analyst to doubt his findings.
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Attorney Kevin Murphy told the Rockford Register Star on Thursday the appellate court was correct in its decision. Murphy says the 52-year-old Pursley has presented “new and powerful evidence of his innocence.” Murphy says a jury will now be allowed to hear that evidence.
A spokeswoman for the state’s attorney said prosecutors haven’t seen the decision.
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