USA - Delaware. Judge John A. Parkins Jr. overturned the conviction and death sentence of Jermaine Wright, 39, black

Superior Court Judge John A. Parkins Jr. overturned the conviction and death sentence of Jermaine Wright, 39, black, for the January 14, 1991 slaying of liquor store clerk Phillip Seifert. Wright, the 2nd-longest-serving inmate on Delaware's death row may be free on bail as soon as next week. Parkins said he had "no confidence" in the evidence against Wright, despite a videotaped confession. He said he plans to hold a hearing next week that appears likely to result in Wright's release on bail. Wright has been under sentence of death for 20 years. Wright was convicted at a 1992 trial for shooting Seifert, 66, during a robbery that only yielded about $30. The jury at the time unanimously recommended the death penalty for Wright, and it was imposed by the judge. Several years later, on appeal, Wright was granted a 2nd penalty hearing. A 2nd jury voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty. Both the conviction and sentence were upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court. In his 101-page opinion responding to Wright's fourth petition for post-conviction relief, Parkins noted that the case against Wright -- with the exception of a videotaped confession -- "was weak to non-existent." He said there was no physical evidence linking Wright to the crime, no murder weapon was recovered, no fingerprints or shoe prints were recovered, no one was able to pick Wright out of a lineup and there were no security camera images of the crime. As for the confession, Parkins wrote, Wright was high on heroin -- and apparently had heroin with him during his 13-hour detention and interrogation -- and at times displayed bizarre behavior. At one point, according to the ruling, Wright curled up in a fetal position under the table in the interview room. Later, Wright "insisted on writing down his answers on a piece of paper, passing the paper to [the detective], who in turn handed it back to Wright, whereupon Wright would eat the paper." Only the last 40 minutes or so of the interrogation were taped. On the video, Parkins wrote, Wright clearly gets details about the crime wrong and several times changes his statement to "yield to suggestions" from the detective. Parkins also ruled that investigators withheld key evidence from attorneys -- which they were required to produce -- that could have led a jury to believe Wright was innocent. Parkins also raised doubts about testimony from a jailhouse snitch, who claimed at trial to have heard Wright confess and who has since recanted his sworn testimony. "Taken altogether the court has no confidence in the outcome of the trial," Parkins wrote.