TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Supreme Court is ordering a new trial for a man convicted of rape.
A sharply-divided court ruled Thursday by a 4-3 margin that Rafael Gutierrez deserves a new trial because the jury in his case was given improper instructions.
Gutierrez was convicted and sentenced to nearly eight years in prison.
He was a regular patron at an Orange County bar. In January 2010, he offered to drive home a woman employee of the bar after she appeared too drunk to drive. He was accused of driving her to an apartment complex where he then raped her.
During his trial, the prosecutor told the jury that the victim's testimony did not need to be corroborated by another witness.
An appeals court ruled that the instruction was not a reason to throw out the conviction.
But a majority of justices disagreed and said that error could have swayed the jury.
(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
