The appeals court ruled Thursday that jurors were given improper instructions before they returned a guilty verdict against 24-year-old Brandon Moore in 2008. The appeals court ordered a new trial.
Moore was accused of causing the 2007 death of Logan Accord of Clifton.
Public defender Steve Colvin told jurors Moore was having a panic attack when he repeatedly hit the boy.
Moore was sentenced to life in prison on the murder charge, and a concurrent 48-year sentence on a separate child abuse charge that the court ruled still stands.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)