Judge OKs convicts request to drop evidence

CHICAGO — A judge on Wednesday accepted a request from a man convicted of a 1978 murder to drop much of the controversial evidence pointing to his innocence that was dug up by Northwestern University journalism students.

Judge Diane Gordon Cannon agreed to drop the evidence from a motion for a new trial filed by Anthony McKinney. She asked that McKinney sign an affidavit stating he understood the consequences, explaining that he is being treated in a psychiatric ward.