Mark Woodworth's Murder Conviction Overturned

Jan 8, 2013 - 0 Comments

Jan. 8, 2013 Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the murder conviction of a man who had been sentenced to life in prison for the 1990 slaying of a neighboring farmer, ruling that prosecutors withheld evidence that may have benefited his defense.

The state's high court ordered Mark Woodworth released within 60 days of when its ruling is finalized, unless prosecutors decide to retry him. Woodworth was convicted of fatally shooting Catherine Robertson and wounding her husband, Lyndel Robertson, as they slept in their home near Chillicothe, about 90 miles north of Kansas City.

Woodworth, whose father farmed with the Robertsons, was 16 at the time of their deaths. He was convicted first in 1995 and, after briefly being released on appeal, was convicted by a second jury four years later.

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