LOS ANGELES (CN) - Rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster claims his criminal defense attorney coerced him into fleeing prosecution by telling him he was likely to be killed in prison. Luster's new attorneys want grand jury transcripts released, claiming they will show that his attorney Richard Sherman conspired to send Luster on his notorious flight to Mexico during his January 2003 criminal trial.

In his federal complaint, Luster's new attorney, J. David Nick of San Francisco, claims that Sherman arranged Luster's flight plan to Guadalajara and collected at least $280,000 from Luster and his family for it. Luster was corralled in Mexico by bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman.

Luster claims Sherman persuaded him that he had to flee because if he did not, "he would be killed upon entering state prison," according to the complaint, which adds, "Andrew Luster fled believing he needed to save his own life."

Read the complete article Luster Wants to See Grand Jury Transcripts at the Courthouse News Service