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Delaware High Court Hears Jermaine Wright Case

state.delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Delaware Supreme Court is set to hear arguments involving a man who spent more than two decades on death row before being set free.

Wednesday's hearing involves prosecutors' appeal of a judge's ruling that they cannot retry Jermaine Wright using a coerced confession he gave to police while high on heroin.

Wright was sentenced to death for the murder of 66-year-old liquor store clerk Phillip Seifert in 1991.

The judge ruled in 2012 that Wright's confession was defective, but the state Supreme Court reversed that ruling, saying the judge's review was procedurally barred.

But following yet another appeal on other unresolved issues, the Supreme Court ruled last year that Wright was entitled to a new trial. After that, the judge denied admission of the confession as evidence.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.