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| Federal Judge Overturns Jury's Conviction and Orders Acquittal in Kidnapping Case |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/06/2003 |
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In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said there is no evidence that Jay Lentz, 43, detained his wife as part of a kidnapping. Without that element, the case is not a federal crime, he said. ''This fatal flaw requires the Court ... to dismiss the case,'' Lee wrote in his 55-page ruling. Lentz was convicted earlier this month on a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death stemming from the 1996 disappearance of Doris Lentz, whose blood-soaked car was found in the District of Columbia shortly after she was reported missing. Her body has never been found. Prosecutors had argued that Lentz lured Doris Lentz in April 1996 to his home and killed her. They sought the death penalty, but jurors instead imposed a sentence of life in prison. Lee said that the Federal Kidnaping Act, passed after the 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's baby, requires showing that the victim was held or detained as part of the kidnapping. A legal expert said it was the first time since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988 that a judge overturned a jury's verdict and ordered an acquittal in a death-penalty case. Defense attorney Michael Lieberman said Lee's ruling was justified, but declined to comment further. U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty said the government will appeal Lee's ruling and ''do everything possible to hold Mr. Lentz accountable for his actions.'' Lentz remained in custody as of July 29. |
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