Michigan ordered to free man linked to corrupt trial

DETROIT (AP) -- A judge has ordered prison officials to release a Detroit-area man whose drug trial was marred by perjury by police. The jury failed to reach a verdict in that trial, but Alexander Aceval subsequently pleaded guilty and has been in prison since 2006. Federal Judge Arthur Tarnow ruled Monday that the trial misconduct was so severe that authorities should've been barred from further prosecuting Aceval. There's no dispute that an informant and Inkster police officers lied at Aceval's trial. The lies were known by prosecutor Karen Plants and then-Wayne County Circuit Judge Mary Waterstone. But the perjury wasn't discovered until after Aceval accepted a plea deal. Plants pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and lost her law license. Aceval's attorney, David Moffitt, says Tarnow's decision "vindicates us in every regard." Published: Wed, Oct 2, 2013