after spending more than 25 years on death row, a United States District..

after spending more than 25 years on death row, a United States District Judge has ruled that Billy Joe Magwood cannot be put to death. Magwood was convicted June 2, 1981, and sentenced to die for the March 1st, 1979 capital murder of then 51-year-old Sheriff C.F. "Neil" Grantham.
In an April 9 ruling, Judge Myron Thompson ruled that Magwood’s death sentence violated due process and must be overturned. Thompson contends that at the time Magwood murdered Grantham, the highest penalty applicable for the crime was life without parole. He also ruled that Magwood’s death sentence must be vacated because of the ineffectiveness of counsel. He said because Magwood’s attorney did not argue during his sentencing that he could not be eligible for the death penalty without retroactively applying a statute created after the murder, he was ineffective. If the decision is not appealed, Thompson said Magwood would have to be sent back to Coffee County for a new sentence.