A new trial has been ordered for Mississippi death row inmate Michelle Byrom , according to a state Supreme Court opinion issued Monday . Byrom 's capital murder conviction was reversed , and the case has been remanded to the circuit court for a new trial , the opinion said . `` We are very grateful that the Mississippi Supreme Court has granted Michelle Byrom 's request for relief from her death sentence , '' said Byrom 's attorney , David Calder . `` This was a team effort on the part of the attorneys currently representing Michelle , and we believe that the court reached a just and fair result under the facts presented in this case. '' ​ . Byrom has been on death row since her 2000 conviction for capital murder . The 57-year-old woman was convicted of being the mastermind of a murder-for-hire plot to kill her allegedly abusive husband , a killing her son had admitted to committing in several jailhouse letters and , according to court documents , in an interview with a court-appointed psychologist . He recanted when he was put on the stand , according to court records . Attorney General Jim Hood , who had requested Byrom 's execution , said Monday his office would seek the court 's reasoning for the reversal . `` While we respect the Mississippi Supreme Court 's decision , it is important that the trial court know and understand the specific errors that were found by the justices so that the lower court knows the best way to proceed , '' he said . `` Our citizens can once again take comfort in the fact that we have a legal system that works for all parties involved . '' The Supreme Court opinion noted that the decision `` is extraordinary and extremely rare in the context of a petition for leave to pursue post-conviction relief . '' Oliver Diaz , the former presiding justice of the Supreme Court , called the opinion `` actually kinda amazing , '' from the order for a new trial to the ruling 's release on a Monday instead of a Thursday , as usual . `` The lawyers filed a last ditch motion for additional post conviction relief . These are almost never granted . Defendants are limited to a single post conviction motion , '' he wrote in an e-mail to CNN . `` It is extremely rare to grant and send back for a new trial . '' The court further instructed that a different judge should be assigned to Byrom 's new trial . Circuit Judge Thomas J. Gardner , who imposed the death sentence on Byrom after her conviction , declined to comment to CNN , saying , `` The matter is ongoing . '' Diaz also said the order for a new judge was extraordinary . `` Also , taking the step of removing the original trial judge is very unusual as well , '' he wrote . Tara Booth , spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections , said the department expects an order Tuesday to transfer Byrom from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility to Tishomingo County , where the killing occurred . Hood , the attorney general , had requested that Byrom be executed `` on or before ( the date of ) March 27 , '' but the Mississippi Supreme Court , which has the final say on execution dates , denied Hood 's request . During Michelle Byrom 's original trial , prosecutors said she plotted to kill her husband , who was fatally shot in his home in Iuka , Mississippi , in 1999 while Michelle was in the hospital receiving treatment for double pneumonia . A jury convicted her based on evidence and testimony alleging that she was the mastermind of the plot . Byrom Jr. admitted in jailhouse letters that he had committed the crime on his own after growing tired of his father 's physical and verbal abuse , and a court-appointed psychologist has said that Byrom Jr. told him a similar story . On the stand , Byrom Jr. pinned the slaying on one of his friends , whom he said his mother had hired for $ 15,000 . Following her attorney 's advice , Michelle Byrom waived her right to a jury sentencing , allowing the judge to decide her fate . He sentenced her to death . Prior to Monday 's ruling , Michelle Byrom 's defense attorneys had filed a motion asking the court for additional discovery so the alleged confession to the court-appointed psychologist could be fully explored . The defense attorneys also want to depose the prosecutor from her trial , Arch Bullard , regarding his knowledge of Byrom Jr. 's alleged confession to the psychologist . Bullard has told CNN that he firmly believes Michelle Byrom was the mastermind of the murder-for-hire plot .
Defense attorney `` grateful '' for decision , applauds `` just and fair result '' in case . Michelle Byrom was sentenced to death for the 1999 slaying of her husband in Iuka , Mississippi . She is currently serving a life sentence without parole. Defense says it wants to explore Byrom 's son 's confession to court-appointed psychologist .