The state's highest court has overturned a condemned...

The state's highest court has overturned a condemned killer's sentence, saying other New Jerseyans convicted of similar crimes were not sentenced to death. Peter Papasavvas, 29, instead will be sentenced to life in prison for the April 25, 1996 strangulation death of 64-year-old Mildred Place. Papasavvas will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years. It is the 1st time the New Jersey Supreme Court has used a "proportionality review" as grounds for striking down a death sentence. The court reversed the death sentence in an unsigned 4-3 opinion. Papasavvas was sentenced to death by a Middlesex County jury, and the state Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 2000. The defense then requested the proportionality review. 12 other death row inmates have sought to have their sentences overturned on the same grounds. None was successful. But the high court said none had mitigating evidence as compelling as Papasavvas, who is brain damaged, suffered horrific child abuse and did not commit a premeditated crime. The court noted he also had no prior record of violent offenses, eventually gave himself up and expressed remorse. With the resentencing of Papasavvas, 15 people will remain on New Jersey's "death row," the Capital Sentencing Unit at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.