Court revives claims by Texas death row inmate backed by DA

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has revived claims by a Texas inmate who has the rare support of the state prosecutor’s office that put him on death row. The justices on Monday threw out a Texas appeals court ruling that refused to grant the inmate, Areli Escobar, a new trial. The state appeals court had overruled a lower court judge who documented the flaws in the forensic evidence used to convict Escobar. The case now returns to the appeals court. Escobar was sentenced for fatally stabbing a 17-year-old high school student who lived in the same apartment complex in Austin.