Woman Found Guilty In Murder-For-Hire Plot Of Husband Gets New Trial

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Maryland appeals court has tossed out the conviction of a Baltimore County woman in a murder-for-hire case.

Karla Porter, who is serving life in prison without parole for hiring a hitman to kill her husband, will get a new trial.

She was found guilty in the death of her husband, William "Ray" Porter, who was shot to death at a Towson gas station in 2010.

Porter claimed she was the victim of physical and emotional abuse for decades.

The appeals court ruled the original judge did not properly instruct jurors on what constitutes imperfect self-defense.

To prove imperfect self-defense, her original lawyers needed to show Porter believed she was in immediate danger.

If imperfect self-defense had been proven, it could have resulted in a conviction for manslaughter, which carries up to a 10 year sentence.

No new trial date has been set.

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