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VILLE PLATTE - A man convicted 17 years ago in what was called a racially motivated shooting will get the chance to argue for a new trial, a judge ruled Monday.

Attorneys for Jacob Guillory Jr., 39, say a witness has come forward who will testify that Guillory was passed out drunk when Caffery Scott Jr. was shot to death as he walked along a road in rural Evangeline Parish.

Guillory was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1985 shooting. He is serving a life sentence.

Prosecutors said Guillory, who is white, shot Scott in the stomach because of hostility he felt toward African-Americans. The two men did not know each other.

"We have a witness who says she was with him at the time and that she approached law enforcement and was told she couldn't testify," said defense attorney Clayton Burgess. "And another man confirms that he told her the same story years ago."

Assistant State Attorney General Jimmy D. White Jr., who is handling the case for the state, had argued that the request for a new trial came after the legal time limits.

Evangeline Parish Judge Gaynor Soileau ruled Monday that time limits do not apply when there is a question of new evidence favorable to a defendant that was known but was not shared with defense attorneys.

White said he will appeal Monday's ruling. The judge halted action in the case until the state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals makes a decision.

In the court documents asking for a new trial, Missy Lynn Navarre Hanson said Guillory came to her mother's house a few hours before the shooting.

Hanson, a relative of Guillory's who was 15 at the time, said Guillory was drunk. He passed out, she said, and did not leave until the next morning. She also said that she heard three other people bragging the next day about how they had killed someone and that Guillory's gun was involved.

She told investigators the same story but was informed she could not testify because she was related to Guillory and too young. There are no restrictions concerning the age or family relationships of people who testify in court cases.

Guillory said in the trial that he did not remember shooting Scott.

The case against him rested largely on the testimony of a woman who said she witnessed the shooting.

Evangeline Parish Judge Gaynor Soileau granted Guillory a new trial in 2000 after his attorney produced a witness who said Guillory was drunk the night of the shooting, a factor that can be considered a defense to second-degree murder.

The state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ruled against the judge, denying the new trial.

"We're getting sick and tired of coming back to court for this thing," said Michael Scott, one of Caffery Scott's 12 children. The slain man's friends and relatives filled half of the Evangeline Parish courtroom for the Monday hearing.