Appeals court says former BP engineer is entitled to new trial in Gulf oil spill probe

A federal appeals court says a former BP engineer is entitled to a new trial on an obstruction of justice charge related to the investigation of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that Kurt Mix deserves a new trial because of jury misconduct in his earlier trial.

Prosecutors accused Mix of deleting text messages about the amount of oil flowing from BP PLC's Macondo well after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. He was convicted on one count in 2013. But the judge later ruled that a juror tainted deliberations by mentioning to a deadlocked jury that she had heard something outside the trial that affirmed her view of Mix's guilt.

Mix has pleaded not guilty.