The State Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for...

The State Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man sentenced to death.In overturning Jeffery Louis Jones' conviction, the justices unanimously said trial Judge Marc Westbrook made 4 "reversible" errors. A jury in November 1998 convicted Jones of beating John Pipkin, 63, and companion Susan Epstein Furman, 44, to death on Feb. 2, 1996, at their Holland Circle home near West Columbia. Co-defendant James Alfred Brown, who is serving a life sentence for the slayings, testified at Jones' trial that he and Jones wanted money to buy crack cocaine. In its ruling the Supreme Court said Westbrook improperly limited cross-examination of Brown and wrongly allowed a prosecution expert to testify about "barefoot insole impressions." The justices said the expert's testimony has not been recognized as a science. The court also said Westbrook improperly allowed other testimony about the identification of Jones. Finally, the court criticized prosecutors for convincing Westbrook to change a jury instruction about reasonable doubt. The justices said that diminished Jones' lawyer's credibility "in the eyes of the jury."