USA - Delaware. The state Supreme Court has ordered a new penalty hearing for Leslie Small, 54, black.

The state Supreme Court has ordered a new penalty hearing for Leslie Small, 54, black. Small was sentenced to death for the Nov. 11, 2009 robbery and killing of June McCarson, 78 (see Apr. 14 and July 22, 2011). The court agreed that a prosecutor improperly suggested to jurors that Small was simply making excuses for his behavior at his penalty hearing in an effort to avoid the death penalty. The court said those comments distorted the purpose of the penalty hearing, in which jurors compare aggravating and mitigating circumstances to determine whether the death penalty is warranted.