U.S. District Judge Jan E

U.S. District Judge Jan E. DuBois in Philadelphia set aside both the conviction and death sentence of Richard Laird, 37. Laird had been convicted for the 1987 killing of Anthony Milano. DuBois blamed the trial judge, Edward G. Biester Jr., for faulty jury instructions and also for allowing Laird to be shackled in the presence of the jury during the penalty phase of the trial.