A Pennsylvania man who shot and wounded a police officer more than 41 years ago will stand trial for his murder following the officer's death last year, a judge has ruled.

Prosecutors say the victim, Walter Barclay, died of injuries directly linked to the 1966 shooting.

William Barnes, 71, who already served around 20 years in prison for the shooting and other offences, was rearrested last year and charged with murder following Mr Barclay's death.

Prosecutors say a urinary tract infection that afflicted Mr Barclay was a direct result of his paralysis. That in turn was caused when Barnes shot him in the spine during an attempted break-in on November 27, 1966.

Judge Bradley Moss of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas sided with prosecutors, although he noted that he had not found any other case in the United States in which a suspect had been charged with murder so long after causing an injury.

"It seems to me the Commonwealth has met its burden in this matter," Mr Moss said after a two-hour hearing. He set a trial date of March 19.

Defence attorney Bobby Hoof said prosecutors failed to prove the police officer had not died from intervening causes between the shooting and his death in August 2007 at age 64.

He argued that Mr Barclay had been involved in two car accidents after the shooting and also fell out of his wheelchair, all of which could have contributed to his death.

Medical examiners did not perform an autopsy and had not ruled out possibilities he might have died from other causes, Mr Hoof said.

Medical Examiner Ian Hood told the court that an autopsy had not been carried out because medical records clearly indicated Mr Barclay died from the urinary tract infection that stemmed from his paralysis.

He reported the cause of death to be homicide.

- Reuters