BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts' highest court has granted a new trial for a Waltham man sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of hiring a hit man to kill his estranged wife's lover.
The Supreme Judicial Court on Friday upheld a lower court ruling and granted James Brescia a new trial, citing a stroke Brescia suffered while testifying. A lower court judge said the stroke's effects may have damaged Brescia's credibility.
Brescia said while testifying at his 2008 trial that he was having trouble understanding questions and he had a bad headache. Testing showed he had a stroke.
Brescia was convicted of paying Scott Foxworth of Dracut $10,000 to kill Edward Schiller, who was fatally shot in the head in a Newton parking garage in 2006. Foxworth is serving life in prison.
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