The Alabama Supreme Court has thrown out the death...

The Alabama Supreme Court has thrown out the death sentence of Phillip Wayne Tomlin. Tomlin has been tried 4 times for the murder-for-hire shooting deaths of Richard Brune and Cheryl Moore, whose bodies were found Jan. 2, 1977. His 1st 2 convictions were thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct, and the 3rd conviction because of juror misconduct. He appealed his 4th conviction partly on the basis of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned an Arizona death sentence because the sentencing decision was made by a judge and not a jury. The Supreme Court, in an 8-0 ruling, said the judge did not give enough importance to the jury's unanimous recommendation. The court sent the case back to Mobile County Circuit Court.