Inmate wants new trial on Arizona escape charges

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) - A man convicted of escaping from a medium-security prison near Kingman wants a new trial.

John McCluskey alleges in court documents that attorneys who represented him during trial and on appeal were ineffective.

A Mohave County Superior Court judge has approved his request for a lawyer and set a January deadline to file a petition for post-conviction relief.

The head of the Mohave County public defender office and the appellate defender office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

McCluskey failed to get his 43-year prison sentence and conviction on escape and other charges overturned.

Authorities say an accomplice helped McCluskey and two others flee the prison in 2010.

McCluskey is being held in New Mexico on federal charges of carjacking and murder in the deaths of an Oklahoma couple.

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