A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a judge's ruling to dismiss a Prince William County man's murder-for-hire conviction and death sentence.

Justin Michael Wolfe was convicted in the death of Daniel Petrole Jr., partially based on the testimony of gunman Owen Barber IV. Barber later recanted his story, and last year a federal judge found that Barber's changed testimony was credible and that prosecutors suppressed evidence that a detective had told Barber he could avoid the death penalty by implicating Wolfe.

Wolfe will remain in prison while the Virginia Attorney General's Office decides what to do next.

- Scott McCabe