Dearborn Heights Man Convicted Of Murder In Porch Shooting Could Get New Trial

DETROIT (WWJ) - A Dearborn Heights man sentenced to prison for the 2013 shooting of Renisha McBride as she stood on his front porch may get a new trial.

Should the prosecutor have had to prove that Theodore Wafer was not acting in self-defense when Wafer testified that he believed 19-year-old McBride was trying to break-in to his house?

Wafer never denied shooting McBride when she showed up drunk on his porch before dawn, but testified that he did so in self-defense after she pounded on his door and allegedly tried to break into his Dearborn Heights home.

McBride, who had an extremely high blood-alcohol level and traces of marijuana in her system, was shot in the face three hours after she walked away from a car crash in Detroit — about a half-mile away from Wafer's home.

The Supreme Court wants to hear from the attorneys before making a decision to formally take the case.

This case could have an effect on all self-defense cases says WWJ's legal analyst Charlie Langton and the options that the jury could consider in such cases.

This technicality could mean a new trial for Wafer -- he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for McBride's second-degree murder.