USA - Delaware. The Delaware Supreme Court reinstated the convictions and death sentence against Jermaine M. Wright

The Delaware Supreme Court today reversed a lower court opinion and reinstated the convictions and death sentence against Jermaine M. Wright for the 1991 slaying of liquor store clerk Phillip Seifert. The 4-to-1 ruling completely overturns the January 3, 2012 (see) ruling by Superior Court Judge John A. Parkins that had appeared to clear the way for the release of Wright after serving more than 20 years on Delaware's death row. Parkins ruled that Wright's conviction should be overturned because Wright was not properly read his rights and was high on heroin when he confessed to the slaying and because police kept key evidence from the defense before Wright's 1992 trial. A majority of the justices ruled that Parkins was in error in revisiting the issue of Wright's confession because that had already been decided and reviewed by earlier courts. The majority also found that the evidence Parkins believed was improperly withheld from the defense would not have changed the outcome of the case because Wright confessed to the crime and the evidence did not support his alibi defense. Wright was convicted of the slaying of the 66-year-old Seifert as part of a January 1991 robbery. Following a trial, a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty. Several years later, following an appeal, Wright was granted a second penalty hearing, where a jury voted 10-2 in favor of death, and the judge again imposed the death sentence. No physical evidence or witnesses tied Wright to the crime, and the conviction was largely based on a videotaped confession where Wright was high on heroin that he had somehow sneaked into the interview room.