USA - Pennsylvania. U.S. District Judge Anita Brody has overturned the conviction of James Dennis, 42, Black

Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody has overturned the conviction of James Dennis, 42, Black, who's been on death row for the past 21 years, finding that his conviction in the death of a teenager killed over her earrings was based on "scant evidence at best." Judge Brody called the case against James Dennis "a grave miscarriage of justice" and found that authorities withheld evidence. In her ruling, she ordered Dennis released from prison unless prosecutors retry him within 6 months. He was convicted in 1992 of shooting dead Chedell Williams, 17, in October 1991. The judge found that Dennis was convicted based on "shaky eyewitness identifications" following the shooting at a transit stop in 1991. The judge also questioned the identification techniques used during a police photo array and police lineup, techniques that have come under frequent scrutiny in death penalty appeals and that many police departments have since revised. Chedell Williams, a high school student, had been at the train station with a female friend. Witnesses told police that at least 2 men were involved, and possibly a 3rd as a getaway driver, but Dennis was the only person charged. "Improper police work characterized nearly the entirety of the investigation," the judge said. Dennis was about 20 and had only a minor drug arrest on his record when he was charged in the girl's death. He had a child born after he went to prison, said pro bono lawyer Ryan Guilds, who has worked on his appeal since 1999.