Supreme Court Overturns Murder Conviction

A former Lawrence man will get a new trial in the 2004 death of his wife.

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday overturned the murder conviction of Martin Miller. He was convicted of strangling his 46-year-old wife, Mary Miller, at their home because he was having an affair and wanted to collect $300,000 in life insurance.

The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in February 2012 that Miller should get a new trial because of errors in jury instructions at his 2005 trial.

The Kansas Supreme Court agreed on Friday that the jury instructions were incorrect. The court said the jurors were told they could acquit Miller only if they had a reasonable doubt on every element of the charge, rather than on just one element.

Associated Press information from: Lawrence Journal-World