In San Diego, Superior Court Judge Kenneth So declared...

In San Diego, Superior Court Judge Kenneth So declared a mistrial in the penalty phase of the trial of Scott Erskine, convicted of raping and murdering 2 young boys. The decision by Superior Court Judge Kenneth So came after jurors reported they were deadlocked on the question of whether Scott Erskine, 40, should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. The vote was 11 in favor of the death penalty, with 1 juror holding out for a life sentence. Deliberations began Dec. 9. The same jury convicted Erskine Oct. 1 of molesting, torturing and strangling 9-year-old Jonathan Sellers and 13-year-old Charlie Keever. The boys disappeared on March 27, 1993 Erskine was linked to the slayings in 2001 when new DNA extraction techniques recovered biological evidence found on one of the boys.