in Columbia the S.C. Supreme Court in a 4-1 vote overturned...

in Columbia the S.C. Supreme Court in a 4-1 vote overturned the death sentence of C. Robert Northcutt because the unanimous jury verdict in November 2003 was "imposed under the influence of passion and prejudice" by 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers' closing argument.
The majority of justices noted they couldn't uphold the death sentence even though then-23-year-old Northcutt, in a rare move, directly asked the jury to sentence him to die.
The ruling was at least the 5th time a death sentence has been reversed in whole or part because of improper arguments by Myers, according to court papers.
Myers, the solicitor for Lexington, Edgefield, Saluda and McCormick counties since 1976, has won more death penalty cases than any other active solicitor, though his critics say he's been reversed more often as well.
Northcutt was convicted of killing his 4-month-old daughter, Breanna, the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2001. Tuesday's ruling upheld the conviction.
Northcutt was accused of slapping, punching, squeezing, shaking, choking and biting the 12-pound baby before breaking her back on the rail of her crib, and then fleeing without helping her.
During closing arguments in the sentencing phase of Northcutt's November 2003 trial, Myers used a baby doll to show how the girl's back was broken, bending the doll over the crib rail until its head and feet met.
He then draped a black blanket -- which belonged to Myers' late son, Chris, 29, who died earlier in 2003 -- over the crib with the doll in it and slowly wheeled it out of the courtroom past jurors, several of whom were fighting back tears. The majority of justices in Tuesday's ruling described the demonstration as a "staged funeral procession."