|
|
| Calif. Murderer's Death Penalty Overturned on Typo |
| By Reuters |
| Published: 12/10/2001 |
|
A federal appeals court Thursday overturned a death sentence given to a convicted murderer, saying the jury's instructions contained a typographical error creating the impression that any other sentence might eventually set the man free on parole. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered fresh proceedings to determine a new sentence for Bruce Morris, 44, of Elverta, California, who was convicted of killing a van driver who had picked up him and two women in 1985. Prosecutors said Morris killed Rickey Van Zandt with repeated blows with a rock and a stick in order to steal the van. Morris, who now says he wants to drop his appeal and be executed voluntarily, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1987. During the penalty phase of the trial, the jurors were given written instructions telling them wrongly that they could sentence Morris only to death or to 'life in prison with the possibility of parole.'' While jurors had been orally informed told several times that they had the option of sentencing Morris to life in prison ''without'' the possibility of parole, the three-judge appeals court panel ruled that the three-letter typo in the written instructions may have confused the deliberations. 'The overwhelming likelihood is that it was confused by the typographical error, which contradicted several other sentencing instructions,'' Judge Susan Graber said in the three-judge panel's unanimous ruling. 'Here, the error is too obvious, the likelihood of prejudice is too great, and the stakes are too high to conclude the error was harmless.'' Morris appealed to the federal court system after both his conviction and sentence were upheld by the California Supreme Court 10 years ago. But this year, he indicated he wanted to drop the appeal and face execution. The U.S. appeals court ruling cleared the way for a new penalty phase trial in Morris's case, ending plans by a federal judge in Sacramento to hold a hearing to determine whether he is mentally competent to drop appeals of the death sentence. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think