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Mentally disabled convict released on bail in Connecticut

This undated inmate photo released Monday, April 6, 2015, by the Connecticut Department of Correction shows Richard Lapointe, convicted in 1992 for the 1987 killing of his wife's 88-year-old grandmother, Bernice Martin in Manchester, Conn. The Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, ordered a new trial for Lapointe, ruling he was deprived of a fair trial because prosecutors failed to disclose notes by a police officer that may have supported an alibi defense. A bail hearing for Lapointe is scheduled for Friday morning, April 10, 2015 in Hartford Superior Court. (AP Photo/Connecticut Department of Correction) This undated inmate photo released Monday, April 6, 2015, by the Connecticut Department of Correction shows Richard Lapointe, convicted in 1992 for the 1987 killing of his wife's 88-year-old grandmother, Bernice Martin in Manchester, Conn. The Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, ordered a new trial for Lapointe, ruling he was deprived of a fair trial because prosecutors failed to disclose notes by a police officer that may have supported an alibi defense. A bail hearing for Lapointe is scheduled for Friday morning, April 10, 2015 in Hartford Superior Court. (AP Photo/Connecticut Department of Correction)

By Associated Press April 10, 2015 1 min read

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A mentally disabled Connecticut man serving a life sentence for a 1987 murder has been released on bail following a court order for a new trial.

Richard Lapointe wore a black shirt with the words “I didn’t do it” as he stepped out of the Hartford courthouse Friday on a $250,000 bond. He said: “I feel wonderful.”

The state Supreme Court ruled on March 31 that Lapointe was deprived of a fair trial because prosecutors failed to disclose material that may have supported an alibi defense. His advocates have questioned the validity of a confession he made to police in the slaying of his wife’s grandmother.

Murder charges have been refiled but prosecutor Gail Hardy said the state has not decided whether it will go ahead with another trial.