An Erie County, N.Y., judge on Wednesday set aside the convictions of two men who, despite their protests of innocence, were found guilty in the grisly 1993 murder of a young mother outside Buffalo. Justice Wojtaszek ordered that the two men, Brian Scott Lorenz and James Pugh, be granted new trials in the slaying of the young mother, Deborah Meindl, who was killed in her home in Tonawanda, N.Y. The judge rejected the men’s assertions of innocence. But he ruled that new trials were warranted because of new evidence, and because the original prosecutors had violated rules governing the sharing of evidence. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office said it would be appealing the judge’s decision.

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Persons: Justice Paul B, Richard Matt, New York jailbreak, Justice Wojtaszek, Brian Scott Lorenz, James Pugh, Deborah Meindl Organizations: Court, Attorney’s Locations: Erie County, N.Y, Buffalo, New York, Tonawanda