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: Capital Defense Weekly

first edition of the New Year

By cdw

This week?s edition marks the first of 2011 including news of a commutation, a possible repeal in Illinois & a couple of defense “wins” in Alabama. Two cases from the Alabama Supreme Court,Ex parte Kenneth Eugene Billups & Ex parte Jimmy Lamar Killingsworth, Jr., lead off this edition.   In both cases the trial judge overrode the jury?s recommendation, 7-5, to death. In Billups the Court holds that the introduction ?the trial court erred by failing to limit the jury?s consideration [of certain Rule 404(b) evidence] to only those purposes for which the evidence was purportedly offered by the State.? In Killingsworth a friend of the victim?s family, who indicated in voir dire she could not be impartial, improperly sat on the jury where the parties apparently removed a juror with a similar name under the mistaken believe they were removing the biased juror...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on January 10, 2011 (boomark / email).