James Irven Staley III’s capital murder conviction in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel has been overturned by a Texas appeals court.

Wichita County officials confirmed Thursday the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth reversed Staley's conviction and ordered a new trial for Staley.

A Fort Worth jury convicted Staley in March 2023 of killing his girlfriend’s son after the trial was moved from Wichita County. Because he was convicted of capital murder, he was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie released a statement on the decision Thursday afternoon.

“I’m extremely disappointed with the Second Court of Appeals’ decision to reverse James Staley’s conviction, and I disagree with the decision," Gillespie said in the statement. "The fight isn’t over, this is only the beginning. We will exhaust every appellate option available, including petitioning the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reinstate the conviction."

Gillespie said if his office cannot get the conviction reinstated, "then we’ll try the case again and get him a second time. I’ve only begun to fight.”

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court for criminal cases in Texas, reviews cases at the discretion of the justices serving on it similar to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Staley was being held Thursday in the Clements Unit in Amarillo with no release date scheduled, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The recent decision from the Second Court of Criminal Appeals does not mean Staley will be automatically released from prison. There are procedures in place for that, and it will be up to a court.

Staley is the scion of a prominent Wichita Falls oil family.

The murder trial was moved on a change of venue because of intense media and social media coverage of the death. In addition, a “Justice For Wilder” movement rose up in the two years before Staley was charged.

Staley was convicted of smothering Wilder with a pillow in his crib on Oct. 11, 2018, in a bedroom of Staley’s Wichita Falls home in the Country Club neighborhood.

He was arrested in October 2020 but stayed free on $1.2 million bail.

He was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was returned, but said, “I did not kill Wilder McDaniel,” as he was being handcuffed.

The statement triggered cries of "Yes, you did!" from Wilder's family members and supporters in court.

At issue in Staley's appeal is a warrant his attorney Keith Hampton contends violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Hampton called it shoddy, "stock boilerplate" and invalid.

The ruling from the appeals court that could provide details of the decision was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.

Wilder’s mother, Amber Nichole McDaniel, pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges of endangering a child and tampering with evidence in connection with the death. She was sentenced to two years in a state jail.