In Princess Anne, a Somerset County Circuit Court judge...

In Princess Anne, a Somerset County Circuit Court judge set aside the death sentence of Kenneth Lloyd Collins, convicted of the Dec. 7, 1986 murder of a bank executive, ruling that jurors might have spared the defendant's life had his lawyer introduced evidence of his troubled upbringing. Judge Daniel M. Long instead sentenced Collins, 39, to life in prison. The reversal of fortune for Collins -- who until today had been 1 of 10 inmates on Maryland's death row -- turned on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year requiring defense lawyers in capital cases to investigate their clients' backgrounds for details, such as childhood abuse or neglect, that might elicit sympathy from jurors during sentencing. Collins was convicted in 1988 of robbing and murdering Wayne L. Breeden, 34.