Judge says she can’t order new trial for convicted murderer

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri judge has ruled that she doesn’t have the authority to grant a new trial for a man serving a life sentence for a murder he and others contend he didn’t commit.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan’s ruling on Friday means 45-year-old Lamar Johnson will remain in prison for the 1994 murder of 25-year-old Marcus Boyd.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and the Midwest Innocence Project are seeking a new trial