The defense in the Wayne Oxley murder trial is responding to what they said is the most compelling criminal evidence in seven weeks.

Oxley, of Ogdensburg, is accused of beating his neighbor, Bernard Trickey, to death with a baseball bat.

The defense said they will call two dozen St. Lawrence County Correctional Officers to the stand after inmate Jamin Haggart told jurors Friday of an alleged confession Oxley made to him behind bars.

The defense wants to ask the corrections officers if they ever saw conversations take place between Haggart and Oxley. In court Wednesday, a jail sergeant testified that cells are locked at all times when an inmate is inside. He also said he didn't recall violations made by officers when Haggart and Oxley were on the same floor.

The trial continues Thursday.