condemned for fatally shooting christopher james in 2001. james was an off-duty dallas police officer, working a security detail in uniform at a dallas club. now lawyers for escamilla asking to appeal results in a new punishment trial for him. a federal appeals court is allowing that request. their argument? evidence of a troubled childhood could have swayed jurors from sending him to death row 12 years ago. in response to the appeal moving forward the current vp of the dallas police association says in part, we stand by the jury and judge's original decision on this case, adding, on a more personal note, this was a true hardened criminal. he was an animal in that courtroom. he was an animal in the street. christopher james was newlywed when he was gunned down. seen here in a photo with his now widow, lori, who says on that night, quote, our world as we knew it, came to an end. at his trial in 2002, he threw a