USA - Kansas. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned the capital murder conviction of Scott Cheever, 31, white

The Kansas Supreme Court unanimously overturned the capital murder conviction of Scott Cheever. Cheever, now 31, white, was sentenced to death on Jan. 23, 2008 (see) for shooting Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels on Jan. 19, 2005. The justices ruled Cheever's rights against self-incrimination were violated when a psychiatrist disclosed Cheever's psychological records during the trial without the defendant's consent. In a 53-page opinion that overturned the conviction, the Kansas Supreme Court said the Fifth Amendment does not prevent a judge from ordering a defendant to submit to a mental exam. But the court said it does prevent the state from using the exam against the defendant at trial. The justices ruled that Cheever, who never denied shooting Samuels. had to give consent because he wasn't pursuing what amounted to an insanity defense. Instead, he was arguing that he was drug-impaired.