DETROIT (AP) — A man sent to prison for a drug crime has cleared a hurdle in a bid to get state compensation for a wrongful conviction. It's a case with unusual circumstances.
The Michigan Supreme Court says evidence that would have helped David Maples wasn't available to him when he decided to plead guilty in Macomb County court. Maples insisted he had no role in a cocaine deal with an undercover police officer in 1993.
But he ended up pleading guilty when a co-defendant wouldn't testify in Maples' favor under the terms of his own plea bargain. Maples' conviction was ultimately reversed by a federal appeals court based on a claim of ineffective counsel.
