USA - California. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has thrown out the death penalty for Michael Allen Hamilton

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has thrown out the death penalty for Michael Allen Hamilton. Hamilton was sentenced in 1982 for the Nov. 2, 1981 shotgun killing of his pregnant wife Gwen Hamilton. Prosecutors said Michael Hamilton was having an affair with another woman and planned to kill his wife to end the marriage and collect her $100,00 life insurance policy. The Court cited sentencing-phase failures by Hamilton's lawyer, who failed to provide information about the defendant's severely abusive childhood and mental health problems.