the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the death sentence of Scott Pinholster

In San Francisco, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the death sentence of Scott Pinholster for fatally stabbing 2 men during a burglary of a drug dealer's home in 1982. Scott Pinholster, now 48, was convicted of murdering Robert Beckett, 29, and Thomas Johnson, 25, who were keeping watch at the dealer's house. Pinholster admitted the break-in but denied committing the murders. U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor of the Central District of California ruled in 2003 that Pinholster had received ineffective assistance from his lawyers, saying the jury might have reached a different verdict if his trial lawyers had investigated and presented evidence of the beatings and abuse he suffered during childhood, and his longtime mental disorders. But in a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the evidence would have made no difference in light of Pinholster's testimony that he committed hundreds of armed robberies. The case is Pinholster v. Ayers, 03-99003.