Judge overturns conviction in 28-year-old case

WILMINGTON — A judge on Thursday ruled that a North Carolina man who was convicted of murder as a teenager and was imprisoned 28 years ago did not get a fair trial and allowed him to go free.

North Carolina Superior Court Judge W. Douglas Parsons ruled Thursday that there was not enough evidence to justify 43-year-old Johnny Small’s conviction for a 1988 murder.

The judge said he didn’t see proof of Small’s innocence but was persuaded that prosecutors must decide if there was enough evidence to put him on trial again.

Small has been imprisoned since the 1988 murder of Pam Dreher in Wilmington. She was found shot to death on the floor of her store.