USA - Alabama. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Derrick Anthony DeBruce should be resentenced

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled 2-1 that Derrick Anthony DeBruce, now 43, Black, should be resentenced because of ineffective representation. DeBruce was convicted in the Aug. 6, 1991, death of Doug Battle, and has served more than 22 years on Alabama's death row at Holman Correctional Facility. DeBruce contended that his trial attorney, Erskine Mathis, was ineffective in both the guilt and penalty phases of his trial. The justices rejected his argument that his attorney was ineffective during the guilt phase of the trial, but found that the evidence presented during the penalty phase was incomplete and that DeBruce's mother offered "grossly inaccurate" testimony about his upbringing and education. During the sentencing phase, DeBruce's mother, Jessie DeBruce, testified that her son completed high school, attended college at the University of Alabama and, though impoverished, had an unremarkable childhood.