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| S.C. Supreme Court Orders New Death Row Inmate Sentencing |
| By Associated Press/Sun-Times |
| Published: 12/09/2002 |
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The South Carolina Supreme Court is following a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in ordering a new sentencing hearing for Death Row inmate Wesley Aaron Shafer Jr. The nation's highest court last year reversed the S.C. Supreme Court's 2000 ruling that affirmed Shafer's sentence. Shafer was sentenced to death for killing a convenience store clerk in Union County in April 1997. The state high court said November 25 that the judge in Shafer's trial should have told jurors Shafer could not be paroled if he received a life prison sentence. Without that instruction jurors weighed Shafer's fate after hearing a prosecutor suggest that Shafer would be a danger to the public if released. In Shafer's 1998 trial, Judge John Hayes III would not answer jurors' questions about parole. Shafer was sentenced to death. In May, the state Legislature passed a law that says judges must tell jurors when asked in all death penalty cases that life in prison is without parole. Before then, South Carolina and Pennsylvania were the only states among the 38 death penalty states that allowed judges to ignore the jury instruction, except in limited situations. In Monday's ruling, the state Supreme Court said judges should give the instruction 'whether it is requested or not.' 'The issue is now put to rest, and there will be uniformity under the statute,' said Dan Stacey, chief lawyer at the state Office of Appellate Defense. Shafer was convicted in the murder of Hot Spot convenience store clerk Ray Broome during a 1997 attempted robbery in Union County. His conviction has not been overturned. |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.