USA - Alabama. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the death sentence of Montez Spradley, 28, black.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals today certified its September ruling that a new trial should be given to Montez Spradley, 28, black. Spradley is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, who claims the conviction and death sentence in the Jan. 9, 2004, robbery and killing of Marlene Jason, 58, white, was based on thin and inconsistent evidence. The decision granting Spradley a new trial was officially certified today after attorneys for the state declined to appeal. On Sept. 30, Alabama's highest appeals court reversed on four separate grounds Spradley's conviction and death sentence, recognizing that the multiple errors in his trial resulted in what the court called "a miscarriage of justice." The court found the prosecution's case was riddled with inconsistencies and that much of it was "improperly submitted."  (see also April 21, 2010).