WBRZ - Baton Rouge

The Louisiana Supreme Court has issued a stay in the first-degree murder trial of a Louisiana State
Penitentiary inmate accused in the 1999 stabbing and beating death of a prison guard.

The high court's decision Friday came in the case involving Jeffrey Cameron Clark, one of five Angola prisoners accused in the death of David Knapps during an escape attempt. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.

Earlier Friday, a 1st Circuit Court of Appeal panel overturned retired state District Judge Dennis Waldron's decision declaring a mistrial. The high court's ruling came later in the day.