The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal recently reversed an Ascension Parish court decision that blocked a man charged with murder from claiming self-defense.

Judge Cody Martin had granted a motion brought by the 23rd Judicial District Court’s Office in August, minutes before the trial for Prairieville resident Jerome Lilly was set to begin.

Lilly, 40, is accused of second-degree murder in connection with the July 2022 shooting of Tarrence Williams, another Prairieville resident. Lilly is being held in the Ascension Parish jail with bail set at $500,000, according to the inmate database.

The appellate court sent the case back to the 23rd Judicial District Court, stating in the order that a “criminal defendant has the constitutional right to present a defense.”

A spokesperson for

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