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A man who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit only to be convicted of murder 3 1/2 years after he left prison said he is confident he will again be exonerated.

Steven Avery, 44, was convicted March 18 of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach. The Manitowoc County jury also found Avery not guilty of mutilation of a corpse and guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On Monday, his lawyers filed a motion for a new trial, claiming among other things that the jury's verdict was too inconsistent to stand. A motion hearing is scheduled for next month and sentencing is set for June 1.

In his first interview since his conviction, Avery said Tuesday that as long as he keeps his private lawyers and doesn't get a public defender he expects to be exonerated for a murder he insists he didn't commit.

"I'm not even ... thinking about going back, as long as this judge gives me a new trial so we get the truth out," he said by phone from the Manitowoc County jail. "But the state ain't out for the truth."