A retired Texas appellate judge hearing a Dallas case seeking to prove that Jones was wrongfully convicted ruled Friday that the DNA test would be performed, despite opposition from the San Jacinto County District Attorney's office. which argued that a jury verdict should be final, reports the Associated Press.

Jones, who was 60 when he was put to death by the state of Texas in 2000, was convicted of the murder of a liquor store owner based on a hair analysis that is now considered unreliable as evidence and the testimony of a purported accomplice who has since admitted he had no first-hand knowledge of the crime.

A career criminal, Jones always admitted to the crimes he had committed, but steadfastly denied the murder for which he was executed, his son, Duane Jones, tells the news agency.

A Houston Chronicle article provides additional details about the DNA testing effort, which is being pursued by the Innocence Project and the Texas Observer magazine.

Under state law, corroborating evidence is required to convict a criminal based on accomplice testimony.

A state forensics panel in April agreed to review the evidence upon which a now-executed man, Cameron Todd Willingham, was convicted in another controversial Texas murder case, the AP article notes.