Court tosses NY man's guilty plea for killing brother

A state appeals court has thrown out the manslaughter conviction of a 73-year-old Essex County man who had pleaded guilty to shooting his younger brother to death during an argument at their home.

The Glens Falls Post-Star reports (http://bit.ly/1yHBgvD) that the Appellate Division found David R. Lang of Crown Point was "coerced" into pleading guilty in 2013 for the June 2012 shooting of 63-year-old Russell Lang.

Lang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his conviction. He appealed, claiming his plea wasn't voluntary.

The court found that county Judge Richard Meyer didn't allow the defense to fully explore an "intoxication" defense, which led to Lang's decision to plead guilty.

The case will be returned to Essex County Court for a possible trial on a murder charge.