Death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning wins new trial in killing of Starkville women

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — A Mississippi death row inmate has won a new trial after the state Supreme Court found police investigators withheld evidence from prosecutors and defense attorneys that showed a key state witness lied

Willie Jerome Manning was sentenced to death in the 1993 slayings of 90-year-old Emmoline Jimmerson and her daughter, 60-year-old Alberta Jordan. Police and prosecutors say the women were beaten and had their throats slashed.

Manning’s attorneys argued the conviction should be overturned because of questions about a witness who put Manning at the scene.

The state Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, says notes from when police knocked on doors at the complex showed the apartment where the witness claimed to live was vacant at the time of the shooting. The court says police withheld that information.