The 6th U

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the death sentence of Richard M. Frazier, convicted of killing his stepdaughter. Frazier's trial attorney did not adequately represent him at his 1991 sentencing hearing, the Court of Appeals ruled. If the state conducts a new sentencing hearing within six months, Frazier still could receive the death penalty for his murder conviction. Otherwise, his death sentence is lifted if he does not receive the new sentencing hearing within six months, the appeals court ruled. Frazier, 57, was convicted in Cuyahoga County of aggravated murder and aggravated burglary in the Nov. 8, 1990, death of Tiffany Skiba. The appellate court's ruling Monday left Frazier's murder conviction intact. Frazier remains on death row at the state's Mansfield prison.