The Pennsylvania Superior Court has affirmed a judge's ruling granting a new trial to a man who has been incarcerated for 13 years for the execution-style slaying of a police informant.

Terrell Johnson, 32, of Hazelwood, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1995 for killing Verna Robinson, 30, and also on counts of retaliating against a witness and conspiracy to commit homicide.

Ms. Robinson, who was shot on a Hazelwood street, had planned to testify against Mr. Johnson in an assault case. Her slaying led the city to establish a witness protection program.

Common Pleas Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole ordered a new trial in February after a new witness, Kenneth Robinson, testified at a hearing that a key witness at the defendant's homicide trial, Evelyn "Dolly" McBryde, could not have been present at the time of the shooting on July 21, 1994, because she was a block away smoking crack cocaine. The victim and the new witness are not related.

A panel of three judges affirmed Judge O'Toole's ruling last week. The Allegheny County district attorney's office, which had appealed his ruling, now plans to ask the entire court to hear its argument, spokesman Mike Manko said.