MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge has ordered a new trial for an Alabama death row inmate after tests showed it was another man's DNA on the victim's body.

Chief U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks last week ruled that Christopher Barbour must get a new trial.

Barbour, now 56, was convicted of the 1992 stabbing death of Thelma Bishop Roberts in Montgomery. Barbour initially confessed that he killed Roberts after helping another man rape her, but he later recanted and said his confession was coerced by police. He has maintained that he is innocent.

New DNA testing done in 2021 revealed that semen on the victim's body didn't belong to either man. It belonged to Roberts' neighbor who is now incarcerated for an unrelated murder.

His attorneys argued in an earlier court filing that “Mr. Bar

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