The Maine Supreme Judicial Court rules that the trial judge erred in instructing the jury in the case of Marcus Asante of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who will remain in custody while awaiting a new trial.
The state supreme court on Thursday overturned the murder conviction of the accused trigger man in a drug-related killing, the first murder conviction to be set aside in more than a decade in Maine.
The Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled that the trial judge erred in instructing the jury, handing a legal victory to Marcus Asante, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. But Asante won’t be released from custody while awaiting a new trial, said Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber.
With the ruling, the prosecution will begin anew, and the state will petition to keep Asante detained pending trial.
