The 10th U

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Denver has granted Johnson a second resentencing hearing. The decision returns the case to Love County District Court. A Love County jury convicted Johnson in February 1993, for the July 26, 1991 murder of Billy Wayne Webb. Before he died, Webb named Johnson and Rickey Masquat as the men who attacked him. In October 2001, the 10th Circuit Court ruled Johnson's initial sentencing had been unfair due to contradictory instructions given by the court. At the root of the issue was a question jurors had asked the court during their deliberations concerning whether a life without parole sentence would be "firm." District Judge John Scaggs answered telling the jury, "It is inappropriate for you to consider the question asked." A second Love County jury heard the evidence against Johnson in October 2001. The second jury returned the same sentencing verdict -- death. The 10th Circuit Court said Monday it was granting Johnson a 3rd try at beating the death penalty because during the 2001 resentencing hearing prosecutors and the court told the jury there was always the possibility a sentence could be commuted by order of the governor. Masquat was also charged with 1st-degree murder. He was tried in Love County, convicted and received a life- without-parole sentence for his role in the slaying.