SNOW HILL, Md. (AP) — A Maryland appeals court has overturned the murder conviction of an Eastern Shore man because of flawed jury instructions.
James Edward Ballard, of Pocomoke City, was convicted of second-degree-murder in the September 2010 fatal stabbing of Russell Matthew Bailey III.
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Ballard argued that he had been acting in self-defense when he stabbed the 18-year-old Bailey.
His lawyer urged the judge to give jurors a specific self-defense instruction, but the request was denied and Ballard was convicted.
The Daily Times of Salisbury reports (http://tinyurl.com/cprtch7 ) that the Maryland Court of Special Appeals sided with Ballard’s public defender and reversed his conviction, sending the case back for a new trial.
Worcester County prosecutors plan to retry the case.
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Information from: The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., http://www.delmarvanow.com/
