KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A man who admits he strangled a woman in Kalamazoo has successfully challenged his murder conviction after arguing that his rights were violated when jurors saw him shackled at trial.
A federal appeals panel says Ervine Davenport is entitled to a new trial, 12 years after his conviction in Kalamazoo County.
The attorney general’s office asked the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to set the decision aside and hear the case again. But the request was rejected Tuesday, 8-7, in 28 pages of agreement and dissent.
There was no dispute at trial that Davenport choked Annette White in 2007 after they had used alcohol and drugs. He insisted he acted in self-defense.
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