In Spartanburg, former death row inmate Johnny "Babe" Ray Jr

In Spartanburg, former death row inmate Johnny "Babe" Ray Jr.'s murder conviction has been thrown out by Circuit Judge Larry R. Patterson, forcing prosecutors to try the 13-year-old case all over again. Judge Patterson ruled that Ray's 1991 guilty plea was coerced by his attorneys, who "erroneously" told Ray the judge hearing the case would reject the prosecutors bid for a death sentence. In June 2001, another judge vacated Ray's second death sentence, citing the layers' "woefully ineffective" representation. Ray's original death sentence was reversed by the state Supreme Court. Ray, 33, offered an Alford plea in connection with the September 1990 shooting, stabbing and strangling death of 20-year-old Josylin Ballenger. In an Alford plea, a defendant acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction and a jury probably would return a guilty verdict, although the defendant does not specifically admit guilt.