A Durham man found guilty of a murder from 30 years ago had his conviction overturned by a judge.

Timothy Evans was convicted in 2009 in the 1993 murder of Shelton Johnson, and spent about 13 years in prison. Earlier this month, Evans' attorney Christine Mumma, with the NC Center on Actual Innocence, argued that Evans' charges should be dismissed because a key witness recanted his testimony. That witness was Richard Waller, who said he had been pressured by police to sign a false statement.

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In a decision signed Nov. 17, 2023, by Judge Ed Wilson wrote that, without Waller's testimony, the State likely "would not have been able to obtain a conviction." He granted Evans a new trial.

"We're always thinking about the next case," Mumma told WRAL Investigates, "but we do try to take a moment and relish that moment. It is justice ... [but] there's definitely cases that we have worked on where justice was not served."

Mumma believes prosecutors will not proceed with a new trial, because there is not any evidence to do so.

In a statement to WRAL Investigates, a spokesperson for Durham District Attorney SatanaDeberry wrote: "We will now review the case and determine whether to proceed with a retrial."

This is the second conviction Mumma has successfully argued to overturn in Durham since June. In both cases, she questions how police acted.

"There is a trend in Durham for the way cases were investigated at one point," she said. "They used practices and procedures that were not acceptable."

Mumma says she has raised this concern with Deberry, who agreed to take a look at past convictions to ensure they were fairly investigated.

Mumma claims the DA is not doing that.

"I think the DA is not making any effort to review old cases of innocence," she said. "I have no doubt that there are other people out there with valid claims."

WRAL asked the DA's office for its perspective on the matter, and has not heard back.

WRAL Investigates' Sarah Krueger spoke with the family of murder victim Shelton Johnson at the prior hearing in November. They said they felt police had arrested the correct people, and they hoped the case would not be overturned.