Retrial to start in 1981 double slaying in NY

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — A new trial for an old crime is about to begin in an upstate New York courtroom.

Robie Drake was convicted in 1982 for shooting two fellow high school students in Niagara County when he was 17. But last year, his research while in prison cast enough doubt on an expert prosecution witness to convince a federal appeals court to order a new trial.

Opening statements are expected Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Lockport.

At the time of his arrest, Drake said he believed he was conducting target practice on an abandoned car when he opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle. But prosecutors said the evidence pointed to a sex crime.

Drake was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences.