Post by CCADP on Aug 13, 2005 20:41:03 GMT -5
ALABAMA:
Court upholds death sentence
A state appeals court Friday upheld the death sentence of a Lee County man
convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and 9-year-old son at his
Opelika home in 1999.
In a 5-0 decision, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals said the death
sentence was appropriate for Stanley Stephens, who was convicted in
September 2002 by a Lee County jury. The jury in recommending the death
sentence noted that in 1992 Stephens had shot his wife, Annie, 32, in the
face and chest with a shotgun but she survived.
Stephens in his appeal argued that his trial should have been postponed
until a third DNA test was performed on the knife seized from him upon his
arrest. The blood on the knife matched that of his 9-year-old son,
Nicholas, on the previous 2 tests.
The appeals court said since the results of the third test, which came
after the start of his trial, were the same, a postponement was
unnecessary.
Stephens' also argued that his police statement shouldn't have been
introduced at trial because he wasn't mentally sound when he waived his
rights. The court, in its ruling, said his claim had no merit.
(source: Montgomery Advertiser)
Court upholds death sentence
A state appeals court Friday upheld the death sentence of a Lee County man
convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and 9-year-old son at his
Opelika home in 1999.
In a 5-0 decision, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals said the death
sentence was appropriate for Stanley Stephens, who was convicted in
September 2002 by a Lee County jury. The jury in recommending the death
sentence noted that in 1992 Stephens had shot his wife, Annie, 32, in the
face and chest with a shotgun but she survived.
Stephens in his appeal argued that his trial should have been postponed
until a third DNA test was performed on the knife seized from him upon his
arrest. The blood on the knife matched that of his 9-year-old son,
Nicholas, on the previous 2 tests.
The appeals court said since the results of the third test, which came
after the start of his trial, were the same, a postponement was
unnecessary.
Stephens' also argued that his police statement shouldn't have been
introduced at trial because he wasn't mentally sound when he waived his
rights. The court, in its ruling, said his claim had no merit.
(source: Montgomery Advertiser)