A judge on Thursday ruled that a North Carolina man who was convicted of murder as a teenager and was imprisoned 28 years ago did not get a fair trial and allowed him to go free.
North Carolina Superior Court Judge W. Douglas Parsons ruled Thursday that there was not enough evidence to justify 43-year-old Johnny Small's conviction for a 1988 murder [of Pam Dreher].
The judge said he didn't see proof of Small's innocence, but was persuaded that prosecutors must decide if there was enough evidence to put him on trial again.