|
|
| Missouri Supreme Court Overturns Pair of Death Sentences |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/09/2002 |
|
The Missouri Supreme Court recently overturned the conviction and death sentence of a man who killed his wife and wounded four others in a 1992 shooting rampage at the St. Louis County courthouse. The court said Kenneth Baumruk's guilt was never in question, but ruled his trial should not have been held at the courthouse. ''The jurors, in effect, sat at the murder scene,'' Judge Michael Wolff wrote for the majority. The court's decision on August 27 also cited media publicity and said St. Louis County Circuit Judge Mark Seigel should have granted a change of venue for Baumruk's 2001 trial just as a previous judge had done when Baumruk originally was indicted in 1993. A Macon County judge found him incompetent to stand trial from brain injuries suffered when police shot him at the courthouse; he was indicted again after he was found competent in 1996. Baumruk shot his wife during a divorce hearing and wounded his attorney and his wife's attorney. Baumruk then ran down the courthouse hallways, wounding a bailiff and security officer as hundreds of others fled the building in downtown Clayton. On the same day, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Kenneth Thompson, who was convicted of beating his estranged wife's parents to death in 1996. The court said the judge should have done a better job of questioning jurors confused about the penalty phase of Thompson's trial. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
I like learning more about prison reforms from this great website that has housed excellent articles on the topic. If I want to learn more about these important topics I know to contact Hamilton Lindley about more of this information because I know that I’ll get a fair answer.