A British grandmother on death row in Texas is to have her case reviewed after lawyers claimed to have unearthed new evidence.
An appeal from Linda Carty will be sent back to her trial court in Houston for additional review in a move welcomed by human rights group Reprieve, which has been helping with her case.
Lawyers for Carty, 56, claim prosecutors coerced witnesses into giving false evidence at the trial where she was convicted and condemned for the 2001 murder of her neighbour Joana Rodriguez and the abduction of Ms Rodriguez's four-day-old son.
Their appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also argues prosecutors arranged for a deal with a co-defendant that was not disclosed to defence lawyers and that four jurors now say they either would have acquitted Carty or not given her a death sentence.
The Harris County prosecutor's office said it was investigating the claims.
Carty, from the British Virgin Islands, had lived in Houston for nearly 20 years.
Celia Ouellette, staff attorney at Reprieve, said: "This is a wonderful day for Linda - and for justice. That a prosecutor can threaten witnesses to lie under oath and testify against a woman, who ends up being convicted of murder and sentenced to death as a direct result, is truly devastating. We look forward to giving Linda a day in court that is not rigged against her from the start."
Carty's US lawyer Michael Goldberg said: "It has long been clear Linda should have a new trial because of the catalogue of errors in her first. Linda's whole team has been working tirelessly for more than a decade to achieve this result and we look forward to giving Linda the chance at justice that she deserves."
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