TYLER (AP) - A man twice convicted — but later freed — of the 1977 rape and murder of an East Texas woman is heading back to court.

Kerry Max Cook was twice sentenced to death after being convicted of killing Linda Jo Edwards. Courts overturned both convictions. In 1999, Cook agreed to plead no contest to murder in exchange for a sentence of time served.

Now, Cook wants new DNA testing that he says could prove he is innocent. The current Smith County district attorney, Matt Bingham, has said he doesn’t oppose more testing.

The prosecutor during one of Cook’s trials is now a judge and has already stepped aside. But Judge Christi Kennedy, another Smith County judge, has refused.

Cook’s attorneys are scheduled Monday to argue that Kennedy should recuse herself.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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