Wyoming Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Supreme Court has overturned a Riverton man's first-degree murder conviction in the 2010 shooting death of another man.

The court on Tuesday ordered a new trial for Gabriel R. Drennen.

Drennen had appealed his convictions for first-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery in the 2010 killing of 29-year-old Leroy Holster.

The Supreme Court ruled it was improper for prosecutors to tell the jury at Drennen's trial that Wyoming law always prohibits the shooting of an unarmed man. The ruling states prosecutors misinformed the jury about the law and that it was up to the jury to decide whether the shooting was justified.

Drennen has stated he feared for his life when Holster threatened to kill him and pushed him over a fence.