Neb. man to get new murder trial

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a Nebraska man, saying jurors would not have found him guilty of first-degree murder if they had known the history of a key witness.

James Strahl of Dakota City, Neb., was convicted of beating another man to death with a hammer after having sex with him for money. The 1998 killing of William O'Hare occurred at the victim's farmhouse in southeastern South Dakota.

In a unanimous ruling, the high court upheld a trial judge's decision that Strahl must get a new trial because the prosecution's key witness was found to have lied in an unrelated case.

The justices agreed with the trial judge’s finding that jurors might have convicted Strahl of a lesser charge but probably would not have found him guilty of first-degree murder without testimony from a jailhouse snitch about premeditation.

Aloysius Black Crow testified that Strahl confessed to the murder while the two shared a jail cell.