By John Simerman

A federal appeals court panel has denied a bid by the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office to challenge an April ruling that found ample evidence John Floyd was innocent of the 1980 stabbing murder of a Times-Picayune proofreader.

Ken Daley, a spokesman for District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office, said prosecutors were reviewing the decision and “will decide our next course of action within the allotted 90 days.”

In Friday’s 37-page decision, a panel of three 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges denied a review by the full appeals court of U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance’s decision to overturn Floyd’s conviction in the French Quarter killing of William Hines. Another appeals court panel had ruled 2-1 in April to uphold Vance’s decision.