In what some law experts describe as a Hail Mary effort, confessed killer Stephen McDaniel will go before a Richmond County judge in Augusta, Georgia on Friday to argue for a new trial.
Four years ago, McDaniel admitted to murdering and dismembering his neighbor and Mercer Law School classmate Lauren Giddings in 2011.
He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
In February, McDaniel filed a 73-page document in Richmond County Superior Court, arguing that his constitutional rights were violated throughout the investigation and pre-trial process. Court documents show McDaniel intends to question more than a dozen witnesses to prove his claims.
Subpoenas were served to McDaniel's former lawyers Frank Hogue and Floyd Buford as well as Macon District Attorney David Cooke.
McDaniel's witness list also includes former District Attorney Greg Winters and several investigators who were on the scene the day Giddings' body was found in a dumpster outside the apartment complex where she and McDaniel lived.
In his document, McDaniel says investigators on the scene documented that he was verbally unresponsive and staring off into space.
McDaniel says they did not allow him to be properly cleared by medical staff before asking for consent to search his apartment, where they gathered evidence they planned to use against him in trial.
While in the Bibb County jail following his arrest, McDaniel requested several legal documents for his own research.
He says former District Attorney Winters requested copies of his research to use against him in court.
McDaniel faults his defense team for not pursuing any legal action after finding out about it.
Hogue later told 13WMAZ there was no legal course of action to take.
District Attorney Cooke has said it is unlikely that the judge will grant McDaniel's request for a new trial, especially since he admitted to the murder. However, if the judge does see reason to bring the case back to court, Cooke says it would pick up where it left off four years ago.