JURIST - Paper Chase: Florida Supreme Court throws out death sentences

Here's Thursday's latest death penalty developments. AP reports that the Florida Supreme Court today threw out the death sentences of Howard Ault, a man convicted of killing two sisters. As a potential juror who opposed the death penalty was wrongly dismissed, the state's high court reversed Ault's sentences. Read today's opinion here [PDF].... According to another AP story, North Carolina is making preparations for tomorrow's execution of Joseph Timothy Keel, despite his attorneys' continuing attempts to spare his life.... In a final AP story, the US House of Representatives agreed yesterday to provide states with more than $1 billion for DNA testing to help some inmates prove their innocence. Death-row inmates will be entitled to use a portion of the money. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner issued this press release.

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