Mississippi death row inmate convicted in husband's killing to get new trial in rare ruling

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a death row inmate who prosecutors say recruited her son in a plot to kill her husband, a rare order for a prisoner awaiting execution.

Michelle Byrom, now 57 years old, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2000 in the killing of her husband, Edward "Eddie" Byrom Sr. She also was accused of recruiting her son in the plot. Byrom Sr. was fatally shot on June 4, 1999, at the couple's home in Iuka.

Byrom's attorneys say they have new evidence in the case, and Byrom now argues her son committed the slaying. She argues in court briefs that her son confessed in conversations with a forensic psychologist.