DEVILS LAKE, N.D. — A Devils Lake man will get one last shot at freedom, 30 years after being convicted of murder.

A judge has agreed to hear 65-year-old Werner Kunkel’s claim of innocence. His lawyers argue prosecutors withheld crucial evidence that could show Kunkel did not commit the crime.

Kunkel, whose name is now legally Werner Rümmer, is serving a life sentence. He was convicted at trial in 1995, nine years after 30-year-old Gilbert Fassett was found stabbed nearly 50 times in a wooded area on the Spirit Lake Reservation.

Now, a judge has agreed to listen to arguments to determine whether Kunkel deserves a new trial.

“It had been on my desk for many years before we reached the stage that I felt we had what we needed to go into court for him,” said Jim Mayer, legal director

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