NC court orders new trial, says confession was involuntary

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court has ordered a new trial in a robbery-related murder because it says a suspect’s confession was involuntary.

A state Court of Appeals panel ruled on Tuesday that the confession by Justin Lavone Lynch in the 2016 robbery and shooting at a bar that was wrongly obtained by Lenoir County sheriff’s officers when they offered the hope of leniency to him.

Lynch has been serving life in prison without parole.

Judge Chris Dillon says a new trial is needed because the testimony was quite damning to his case and it’s possible the jury wouldn’t have convicted him without it.