PENDLETON — The Oregon Supreme Court in March 2022 will hear an appeal from a convicted murderer from Umatilla County.

George West Craigen, of Milton-Freewater, was sentenced in 2014 to life in prison for murdering his neighbor, Rob Carter, in 2011. But the Oregon Court of Appeals in 2018 overturned the case due to errors at the trial.

Last week, the Oregon Supreme Court at the request of the Oregon Department of Justice granted a review of the case.

Craigen faced four counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, with the latest charge coming in 2011, and was out of jail on bail when he killed Carter.

After police caught him following the homicide, he told police during an interview that Carter had set him up in the latest gun case, and that prompted the killing. A 12-person jury in 2014 found Craigen guilty of felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon, altering a firearm’s identification number and the murder.

But the appellate court overturned the conviction, ruling police should have stopped their interview with Craigen after he made a statement connecting the two cases. By continuing the interview, the court ruled, police violated Craigen’s constitutional rights.

Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said the Department of Justice informed him it was seeking the review. He said at this point he does not have any more information about the case.

Primus said the district attorney’s office has no role while the case is in front of the Supreme Court. He said the case will be handled by the appellate division of the DOJ. The division will review the case with consideration of state law, write briefs and make oral arguments in front of the court.

“It’s all in their hands at this point,” Primus said, adding, “I stand by the work we did previously, and we’ll see what happens.”