|
|
| Court reinstates Mo. inmate's sentence |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/24/2004 |
|
A federal appeals court has reinstated an inmate's death sentence in a murder-for-hire case, rejecting claims that prosecutors, including a current congressman, encouraged a key witness to lie under oath. Richard Clay, 39, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1995 in the fatal shooting of Missouri businessman Randy Martindale. In a 3-0 vote, a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by a lower court judge who said Clay should be retried because prosecutors failed to disclose details of a witness' plea bargain. At issue was whether prosecutors told a witness, Chuck Sanders, to lie about the severity of his possible sentence in hopes of bolstering his credibility to jurors. Another concern was whether then-prosecutor Kenny Hulshof - now a Republican congressman - mischaracterized Sanders' possible punishment at trial. Hulshof has denied he ever told Sanders to lie about the terms of his plea bargain. Prosecutors argued that Martindale's wife, Stacy, was having an affair with Sanders. She hired Clay to kill her husband, prosecutors said. She was convicted in 1995 and is serving a 15-year prison sentence. A federal judge had ordered a new trial in 2001 after college students uncovered allegations of supposed prosecutorial misconduct. However, the three-judge panel ruled last Monday that any undisclosed information about the plea bargain was immaterial. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think