THE convicted killer of a Derby schoolboy has had his sentence quashed.
Michael-Paul Hamblett-Sewell will face a judge and jury in the new year after an appeal court, sitting for the first time in Nottingham, ordered a retrial.
A hushed courtroom heard Lord Chief Justice Sir John Thomas say: "We have come to the view this murder conviction can not be considered safe and are in no doubt that a retrial must take place. We therefore quash the original conviction and there will be a retrial."
Mr Hamblett-Sewell watched the proceedings via a video link.
Dressed in a purple and white hooped polo shirt, he showed no emotion when his retrial was ordered by the judge.
Members of his family were in court in the public gallery to hear the news.
Lord Chief Justice Thomas ordered that evidence heard during the two-hour hearing should not be divulged and imposed strict reporting restrictions until after the trial.
Mr Hamblett-Sewell, now 26, was originally convicted of the murder of 15-year-old Kadeem Blackwood, from Sunny Hill, at the same court following a trial in October 2009. He was jailed for life and told he would serve a minimum of 23 years.
Kadeem was shot in the chest in Caxton Park, Derby, in November 2008.
The man who shot him, Callum Campbell, pleaded guilty to murder and, in October 2009, was jailed for life and told he would serve a minimum of 22 years.
A third defendant, Ashley Campbell, was jailed for four years for aiding and abetting an offender.
He helped to find a hideaway for Campbell.
Kadeem's shooting sent shockwaves through Derby's community.
