Trevor Dooley returns to court for appeal hearing

Last time we saw convicted killer Trevor Dooley, he was wheelchair-bound and appeared frail.

He began serving his eight-year prison sentence in 2014, but was granted an appeal in 2016 claiming the jury instructions were flawed. Dooley has since been released on bond.

He was convicted of manslaughter for the shooting death of David James over a dispute on a basketball court back in 2010. It happened in front of James' daughter, Danielle, who was eight years old at the time. She is now a teenager.

Dooley tried to defend himself using Florida's Stand Your Ground law, claiming he was in fear for his life the day he shot and killed James.

But the jury didn't buy it. They convicted Dooley of manslaughter, but Dooley isn't done fighting.

Dooley's attorney, William Pinnell told an appellate court Tuesday morning there was an error made during jury instructions and now his client deserves a do-over.

He says the jury was never told the difference between self-defense and Stand Your Ground.

"The instructions, as a whole, do not tell the jury that you do not have a duty to retreat if you meet those requirements," said Pinnell. 

Judge Patricia Kelly appeared to side with Dooley.

"It just wasn't made clear, in the way these instructions were given, that they are separate theories of self-defense and that you can have one or you can have the other," said Kelly.

But State Prosecutor Brandon Christian argued Dooley did not meet the burden.

"The moment that Mr. Dooley fired that fatal shot, he was not confronted with an imminent threat of death or bodily harm," said Christian. 

Appellate Judge Stevan Northcutt was quick to zero-in on the issue at hand: "The question is: Could the jury have been confused? Could there likely been a different result, possibly been a different result?"

If Dooley wins his appeal, he will be granted a new trial.