for the 1st time since New Jersey reinstated capital punishment in 1982...

for the 1st time since New Jersey reinstated capital punishment in 1982, a state judge has overturned a death sentence on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Superior Court Judge Cornelius Sullivan in Burlington County ruled that Robert Morton was not adequately represented during the penalty phase of his 1996 trial, at which a jury determined he should die for fatally stabbing a gas station attendant during a robbery.
Sullivan faulted Morton's public defenders for failing to call witnesses who could testify that the defendant "came from a family riddled by mental health and substance abuse problems" and beg for his life.