A Prince William County jury recommended that Paul...

A Prince William County jury recommended that Paul Warner Powell, 24, be put to death for stabbing 16-year-old Stacie Reed through the heart after trying to rape her, a verdict that could send Powell back to death row for the 1999 attack.
Prince William Circuit Court Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr. is scheduled to decide on the jury's recommendation in May, when he can reduce the sentence to life in prison. In August 2000, Whisenant approved a death sentence for Powell.
Powell already is serving three life sentences for his attack on Stacie Reed's sister, Kristie, 18, who was raped, stabbed in the stomach and slashed in her throat and wrists.
Powell's 1st capital murder conviction was overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court, and his attorneys said yesterday that his new conviction would make for a compelling appeal, largely because it tests the bounds of the constitutional protection against double jeopardy.
Powell's 2000 conviction and death sentence were overturned by the state Supreme Court when the justices ruled that Stacie Reed's murder and her sister's rape inside the Reed family home were not parts of the same crime, a necessary element for capital punishment for the section of Virginia law under which Powell was indicted.