WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won't consider reinstating the conviction of a Michigan man charged with a 1988 murder in a drug dispute.

The justices on Monday rejected Michigan's appeal of a federal court ruling that overturned the conviction of Junior Fred Blackston.

A federal district judge ruled in 2013 that Blackston was denied a fair trial in state court because he wasn't allowed to attack the credibility of two key witnesses who recanted their testimony between his first and second trials. The earlier testimony was read to jurors during the second trial.

A federal appeals court agreed that Blackston had a right to challenge the earlier testimony with written statements from the witnesses saying it was wrong.

Three Supreme Court justices dissented, saying they would have heard the case.