Missouri man sues federal public defenders office

A Missouri man whose conviction was overturned after he spent more than two years in prison is suing the federal public defender's office. 

Aaron Winters, 30, says in his lawsuit that his public defender told him to plead guilty even though he was innocent. Winters was sentenced to 30 months in prison after his arrest in 2012 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

However, Winters later learned that he was not banned from having a gun because he had been sentenced to less than a year on an earlier conviction for possessing marijuana without a tax stamp. 

Federal prosecutors then recommended Winters conviction be overturned.