Rafferty appeals conviction in Tori Stafford murder: report
Posted August 2, 2012 5:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Michael Rafferty is appealing his conviction in the murder of 8-year-old Tori Stafford.
The Toronto Star is reporting that Rafferty is appealing on the grounds that the judge failed to properly instruct the jury and that the jury failed to apprehend the evidentiary requirement to convict for first-degree murder.
If a new trial is ordered, the 31-year-old convicted of the abduction, rape and murder of Tori, wrote that he would like a trial by jury.
Rafferty missed the 30-day deadline to appeal his conviction but asked for an extension, attributing the delay to “inability to use the telephone to contact legal counsel.
