AUBURN - A man who was granted a new trial after spending 15 years in prison for murder still has one more hurdle to clear before his case can go to a jury.

The decision by Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone to overturn the 1995 murder conviction of Sammy Swift, 55, who is currently being held at the Cayuga County Jail, is expected to go before the region's appellate court in December or January.

Swift was originally convicted of beating Stephen DeLuca Sr. to death as he attempted to steal DeLuca's wallet. Two co-defendants, sisters Michele Flowers and Veronica Barr, pleaded to lesser charges associated with the incident in exchange for their testimony against Swift.

Joseph Sapio, who represented Swift in Cayuga County Court Thursday, said he would work with Swift to help him and any court-appointed appellate attorney to prepare for the upcoming appeals process.

If the appeal, which was filed by Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, passes, and the appellate court overrules Leone's decision, Swift will be sent back to prison to finish serving his sentence of 25 years to life. If the court upholds Leone's decision, the case will move forward for a tentative trial date in March, Budelmann said. The

ultimate decision for the appeal will be left up to a panel of five judges, with a majority vote winning.

Leone had overturned the original murder conviction in June on the grounds that the jury may have been misled by forensic evidence that was presented during the first trial. Former Cayuga County District Attorney Jim Vargason had told the jury that blood found at the crime scene may have been a mixture of DeLuca and Swift's blood. A recent DNA test revealed that only the victim's blood was found at the crime scene, and not Swift's.

“The new evidence does not exonerate the defendant, but it does controvert the only forensic evidence linking him to the crime and seriously compromises the sufficiency of the corroboration,” Leone said in the letter. “Consequently, without the inference of the defendant's blood being at the scene of the crime, the court finds that had new DNA evidence excluding the defendant's blood from the crime scene been introduced at trial, a reasonable probability exists that the verdict may have been more favorable to the defendant.”

But the district attorney's office has maintained there was enough evidence without the blood testing to convict Swift.

“The victim's own blood on the victim's own couch in the victim's own house does not exculpate the defendant's,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Valdina said.

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net