That depends on why he was cleared. If he was cleared due to some sort of technicality or due to lack of evidence then there is no reason why he cannot be prosecuted a second time. Also if any of the relevant laws have changed in any way since 2007 (which I imagine they have) then the prosecutors can try again under these new laws. Being cleared doesn't in and of itself mean that what you where accused of isn't illegal.
He is not exonerated. The state has 30 days to decide whether they want to try him again, and I believe are waiting on some DNA test results to make that determination.
I later found out that my trial actually was a retrial from a previous hung jury. I don't know if they retried him again. I remember searching for him a couple of years ago and didn't find any convictions. So, if they did retry him, they didn't convict – or it's not public.
My understanding is that it's common to retry cases like this, but I don't really know.
But it wasn't remanded back to a district court, they retried in front of the 10th circuit court.
Regardless, he was never rightfully convicted by a jury. The trial in which he was found guilty by a jury was found to have denied him a proper defense (by an appeals court).
It doesn't look like he's been exonerated. He's been released from prison on his own recognizance while the state evaluates evidence. He's in a kind of limbo.
If he's formally exonerated, double jeopardy will prevent the state from ever trying him again, so the state has an incentive to keep him in that state.
I'd be grateful for corrections to any distortions or omissions in that description. I'd forgotten (or might not have heard at the time) that his conviction was subsequently vacated on appeal, but that was after he already spent over a year in prison.
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