The state Supreme Court re-sentenced another death...

The state Supreme Court re-sentenced another death row inmate to life in prison because a judge -- not a jury -- imposed the penalty. The latest court-ordered re-sentencing comes in the case of Rufus James Ervin, 34, who was convicted of the September 1994 slaying of Leland White in Reynolds County. The court's decision was based on a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, which said in an Arizona case the Constitution's right to a trial by a jury also applies to death sentences. This past June, the state Supreme Court said it would apply the federal decision retroactively to inmates on Missouri's death row. (See also October 28).