A man convicted of murder in 1998 could be freed from prison because of new evidence in his case. John Earl Nolley, 42, could be released by state District Judge Louis Sturns while his innocence claims are reconsidered. Nolley was convicted of killing Sharon McLane, a woman who was found dead - with 57 stab wounds - in her Bedford apartment on Dec. 14, 1996. He was sentenced to life in prison on May 27, 1998, based largely on testimony from a jailhouse snitch and a bloody palm print left at the crime scene. According to a brief filed with the court, the inmate who testified against Nolley lied and new tests results show that the print belongs to an unidentified third party who was at the crime scene. Forensic experts at the time of Nolley's trial concluded they could not tell who left the bloody palm print at the scene of the murder.