State briefs for January 16

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Ex-death row inmate pleads not guilty in trafficking case

DOVER, Del. — A former death row inmate from Delaware who was later exonerated has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges in Hawaii.

The Delaware State News in Dover reported Saturday that Isaiah Otis Wilmont McCoy entered the plea in federal court. He’s facing similar charges on the local level in Honolulu.

McCoy was arrested Jan. 3 before being indicted federally Jan. 4. Authorities claim he forced a woman into prostitution among other charges, according to the report. He remains in jail.

Federal authorities said McCoy denies the sex trafficking charges to investigators.

In 2010, McCoy was convicted of shooting a Maryland man and was initially sentenced to death. He spent nearly seven years in prison before being found not guilty during a second trial and then freed.

Man dies after stabbing on cargo ship

HONOLULU — Authorities have opened a second-degree murder investigation after a man was killed at Honolulu Harbor.

The man died after he was stabbed in the chest on an oil tanker. Honolulu police say a 911 call reporting the stabbing came in just after midnight Friday.

Authorities say a fight broke out between at least two men and one of the men was stabbed.

The stabbing occurred aboard the vessel named Hai Soon 39. Authorities responded and detained a man in connection with the stabbing.

Police say the victim suffered a single puncture wound. Emergency Medical Services transported him to a trauma hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara says the oil tanker was scheduled to depart Honolulu at 10 a.m. Friday.