FLINT, MI -- A state appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Flint man who prosecutors say strangled the sister of a Genesee County Sheriff's deputy to death in 2011.

The Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of Lorenzo Donnell Relerford Jr. in an order Tuesday, Nov. 19, after judges ruled Relerford's right to a fair trial was violated when jurors saw his leg shackles during his trial on murder charges in Genesee Circuit Court.

Jurors convicted Relerford in March 2012 of first-degree felony murder, armed robbery and unlawfully driving away an automobile for the killing of Jeanne Hank. Genesee Circuit Judge Archie Hayman sentenced him to serve life in prison.

However, the appeals court ruled that Hayman erred when he failed to issue a mistrial in Relerford's case after jurors saw his legs shackled and again during an evidentiary hearing ordered by the appeals court when he ruled that jurors seeing Relerford in shackles was harmless.

The issue arose when Relerford was called to testify during the trial. Typically when a defendant chooses to testify, the judge will clear the jury out of the courtroom, have the defendant sit in the witness box and then bring the jury back in so the shackles are never visible to jurors.

However, when Relerford was called to testify, rather than waiting for Hayman to remove the jurors Relerford stood up and began walking toward the witness box, allowing jurors to see the leg shackles. Hayman said he was never notified that Relerford was shackled during the trial, adding that decisions about courtroom security are left up to Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell.

Relerford's attorney immediately called for a mistrial but the request was denied by Hayman, according to court records.

Hayman said he agrees with the appeals court's concern that a defendant receive a fair trial, but his experience leads him to believe that jurors are not influenced by whether or not the defendant is shackled but by the evidence in the case.

"Jurors try to be fair," Hayman said, adding that there was no evidence to show that jurors actually saw the shackles. "They go out of their way to be fair."

Hayman said that the evidence in the case was overwhelming to convict Relerford, including testimony from his co-defendant, Dantoine Brown.

Prosecutors also argued that the evidence against Relerford was overwhelming, pointing to testimony from one of Relerford's jailmates stating that Relerford confessed, DNA found on the bathrobe belt used to strangle Hank and the fact that Relerford frowned when he asked a deputy about DNA evidence.

However the appeals court said the evidence, though persuasive, was not sufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The appeals court said Relerford was able to impeach the jailmate's testimony with testimony of another jailmate, the DNA from the bathrobe belt showed that there was DNA belonging to at least two other individuals on it and that Relerford's frown to the deputy alone could not support a conviction.

"We feel badly for the victim's family that this matter may have to be retried," said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. "We are considering an appeal of the issue to the Michigan Supreme Court."

Pickell said he accepts the responsibility for the situation and that his office has ordered new equipment that would prevent jurors from seeing shackles on defendants and keep this situation from happening again.

"We do everything we can to prevent the jury from seeing that," Pickell said, noting that there are features in the courtroom, such as skirts on the tables, that attempt to conceal the leg shackles from the jury.

Pickell said that his deputies move 80-100 jail inmates per day and that understaffing has impacted the deputies' ability to do their job.

"It's unfortunate in this case because a family suffers," Pickell said.

Hank, 47, was found dead by her father in her Grand Blanc townhouse on March 10, 2011.

Hours after Jeanne Hank's death, police found Relerford and Brown, both 29, of Flint, in Hank's car with her TV, DVD player, laptop computer and jewelry. Investigators found that they had been attempting to sell Hank's belongings at area pawn shops.

Brown pleaded guilty to armed robbery and manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against Relerford. He was sentenced to 10-50 years in prison in 2012.

Both Relerford and Brown acknowledged during the trial that they were in Hank's home and that they took some of her personal belongings. However, each man testified that the other actually killed Hank. A jailhouse informant testified that a dispute over money Hank owed Relerford led to the killing.

Hank's family members could not be reached for comment on the case.

Hayman will meet with prosecutors and defense attorneys to schedule a new trial date.