Sanders, who plans to file a petition for a certificate of innocence, was originally convicted by a jury of the murder of Phillip Atkins. Atkins and Stacy Armstrong, 19, were asleep inside a car in December 1993 when four men forced them out of the car at gunpoint. One of the men – identified by Armstrong as Sanders – ordered Atkins killed after he admitted he was a member of the Mickey Cobras street gang. Armstrong was also shot three times but survived and was the sole eyewitness.