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Pa. man on death row will get to argue for new trial

A man on death row for killing three siblings in Pennsylvania will get a chance to argue that his conviction was based on a flawed hair analysis.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that 62-year-old David Chmiel will have the opportunity to raise questions about the reliability of the forensic tests that led to his 2002 conviction.

A court justice wrote that Chmiel’s case warrants another look because the FBI has admitted testimony given by its hair examiners was wrong in a vast majority of cases.

Chmiel was originally convicted in 1984 and has appealed multiple times. His attorney hasn’t returned a voice mail seeking comment.

The decision sends the case back to a lower court in Lackawanna County, where Chmiel will get to ask a judge for a new trial.

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