|
|
| Death Row inmate's sentence overturned |
| By Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
| Published: 02/25/2004 |
|
A Texas inmate who was granted a reprieve just 10 minutes before being taken to the execution chamber last year won a reversal of his death sentence from the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, when the justices found evidence of misconduct by police and prosecutors. The high court's 7-2 ruling means that Delma Banks, who has been on Death Row for nearly 24 years for killing a Texarkana teen-ager, can ask lower courts to commute his sentence or to give him a new trial. Banks was condemned for shooting 16-year-old Richard Whitehead on April 11, 1980. The two had been co-workers at a fast-food restaurant and had run into each other after a high school dance where Whitehead had taken his girlfriend, according to court records. Banks, who was 21, agreed to buy some beer for the trio and drank some of it at a nearby park. Whitehead's date asked to be taken home at 11 p.m., but Whitehead and Banks decided to return to the park. A witness who testified at the trial said Banks had told him he shot Whitehead "for the hell of it," and drove Whitehead's Ford Mustang to Dallas, where he had left the pistol used in the killing. Banks was arrested after he returned to Dallas about 10 days after Whitehead's death to retrieve the weapon so he and two friends could commit some armed robberies. Banks later led police to the .25-caliber pistol. Since his imprisonment, Banks has maintained his innocence and insisted that he was framed by authorities. He has had 16 execution dates scheduled and then set aside. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, pointed out that Banks had documented that prosecutors remained silent as key witnesses lied on the stand, and that prosecutors kept quiet about those witnesses' ties to police throughout the appeals process. At least one prosecution witness was a paid police informant, which was not mentioned to the jury. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
That Texas inmate has just won his rehearsal of death sentence after spending the best twenty-four years of his life in a prison. I always visit essayontime.com.au/homework-help-in-australia to get my essay done online. Honestly speaking, I am feeling pity for that individual.