Melvin Jay Hardy, who has spent more than 6 years on North Carolina's death row for the 1997 murder

Melvin Jay Hardy, who has spent more than 6 years on North Carolina's death row for the 1997 murder of Andrew Ray, may get to live.
Superior Court Judge Richard Doughton overturned the 28-year-old killer's death sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing.
Doughton ruled that defense lawyers Harold Bender and Sharon Jumper didn't adequately defend Hardy during the capital murder trial.
Melvin Jay Hardy was sentenced to death in December 1998 for the murder of Andrew Ray, 41, during a robbery.
It was the second time in 6 months that Hardy had been convicted of 1st-degree murder.
Hardy was convicted in June 1998 of murdering 16-year-old Kedrin Bradley, apparently because the teenager owed him drug money.
The jury spared his life, sentencing him to life in prison for the 1995 murder.
Hardy was out of jail on bond awaiting trial in Bradley's slaying when he murdered Ray.