LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A lawyer for a death row inmate says the Arkansas Supreme Court should overturn his murder conviction because a judge wouldn't bounce a juror caught tweeting during his 2010 trial.
Erickson Dimas-Martinez's lawyer on Thursday asked the court to overturn his client's conviction for the slaying of a Centerton teenager.
Dimas-Martinez's attorney says the juror was caught tweeting during the trial despite the judge's instruction to not to post on the Internet or otherwise or communicate with anyone about the case.
An assistant attorney general defended the judge's decision to not dismiss the juror and said the tweets were merely about the juror's feelings and not about deliberations.
Dimas-Martinez's lawyer also argued that the judge should have dismissed another juror who was caught sleeping during the trial.
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