Missouri high court tosses mall shooting murder conviction

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has overturned a man’s murder conviction in a deadly 2018 shooting outside a suburban Kansas City shopping mall because he wasn’t allowed to argue at trial that he acted in self-defense. The high court ruled Tuesday that the trial judge hamstrung Tyler Gates’ attorneys by not allowing them to argue it was self-defense and violated Gates’ constitutional rights. Jurors convicted Gates of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 17-year-old Matthew Haylock at the Independence Center. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Gates’ attorney says she’s pleased by the high court’s ruling and that “fairness requires a new trial.”