USA - Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated Corey Wimbley's death sentence, confirming that the entire capital law of the state could be unconstitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of Corey Wimbley v. Alabama, vacated the judgment of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upholding Wimbley's death sentence, and directed the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama to consider whether Alabama's death penalty statute is constitutional in light of the Court's holding earlier this year in Hurst v. Florida. Wimbley in 2008 was convicted in the slaying of a grocery store owner, Connie Ray Wheat, during a robbery attempt. This is the second Alabama death penalty judgment the Court has vacated with directions to consider the constitutionality of Alabama's death penalty. The prior case involved Bart Johnson. The decisions in both cases were spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in January that Florida's sentencing scheme allowing judges to override juries in death penalty cases is unconstitutional. Alabama has a similar sentencing scheme.