Lafayette Man’s Conviction Overturned

Daniels

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — A Lafayette County man sentenced to life in prison for burglary will get a chance to prove his innocence.

The state Supreme Court today ordered a new trial for 33-year-old Edward Daniels because of a technicality in a jury instruction during his October 2010 trial. The jury convicted Daniels of breaking into a Lafayette County couple’s home and stealing TVs, computers and other items.

The verdict came even though he skipped out on the trial.

When he finally was caught, a judge sentenced him to life as a habitual offender because of prior felony convictions.

In today’s ruling, the Supreme Court wrote that the flawed jury instruction warrants a new trial.