In Lubbock, U

In Lubbock, U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings overturned Joe Lee Guy's death sentence (not the conviction), and ordered the case back to 242nd Judge Ed Self's court for resentencing in Plainview, Hale County. The district attorney who prosecuted Guy's case said he will offer a plea deal putting Guy in prison for life, if the attorney general's office does not appeal Cummings' ruling. Guy and 2 accomplices (Thomas Howard and Ronald Springer) killed 62-year-old Larry Howell at a grocery store. The other two men convicted of Howell's slaying, who allegedly committed the murder, were sentenced to life prison terms. In January, McEachern, Self, retired sheriff Charles Tue and current Sheriff David Mull signed a petition seeking executive clemency for the 32-year-old Guy. The parole board unanimously voted to commute the sentence to life in prison, with no chance for parole for 40 years. However, Governor Rick Perry did not act on the commutation recommendation, apparently waiting for the outcome of the evidentiary hearing, which had been recessed from its beginning last October. Guy appealed based on the behavior of a defense attorney and an investigator during sentencing. Testimony during a hearing this week indicated he was mentally slow and always was a follower.