the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2003 (see Oct. 9, 2003) ruling by...

the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2003 (see Oct. 9, 2003) ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon of Omaha that vacated Charles Jess Palmer's death sentence.
Bataillon ruled that Palmer's murder conviction was valid, but he vacated Palmer's death sentence, citing a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision in an Arizona case that said juries, not judges, must decide whether a murder merits the death penalty.
While the Supreme Court left unclear whether its ruling should apply retroactively to inmates awaiting execution, Bataillon ruled that it did.
The high court later said its ruling in the Arizona case was not retroactive.
Palmer was convicted in the 1979 murder of Eugene "Zimmy" Zimmerman.