In Los Angeles, U

In Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie reversed the 1979 death sentence of Earl Lloyd Jackson. "The special circumstance finding and death sentence in this case rest on an evidentiary foundation constructed largely from the false testimony of two jailhouse informants," wrote Rafeedie. The judge's order keeps intact Jackson's conviction for the fatal beating deaths of Gladys Ott, 90, and Vernita Curtis, 81, who were killed during separate burglaries of their apartments in 1977. But citing a "dereliction of duty" by the prosecutor and Jackson's defense attorney, Rafeedie found that Jackson's constitutional rights were violated. Among other things, the judge determined that prosecutors allowed two jailhouse informants to lie to the jury, particularly about the favorable deals they received in exchange for their testimony. Rafeedie concluded that the informants were the only direct link to Jackson's role in the Ott murder, which made him eligible for the death penalty. The judge also set aside the death sentence because Jackson's lawyer did not put on any defense during the trial's penalty phase. Jackson's death sentence is the 6th overturned this year in California. There are not expected to be any executions in 2004.