USA - Military. Marine removed from death row, gets new trial.

Marine removed from death row, gets new trial. Wade Walker, a former lance corporal sentenced to death for murdering 2 Marines in 1992 will get a new trial for one of the crimes. Pvt. Walker was convicted at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in July 1993 for the March 1992 murders of 2 lance corporals in nearby Jacksonville, N.C. The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals set aside his death sentence this past summer and ordered a new trial for one of the cases, said 1st Lt. Patrick Boyce, a spokesman at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. The new trial will begin some time next year. Walker and former Lance Cpl. Kenneth G. Parker were found guilty of murdering Lance Cpl. Rodney L. Page with a 12-gauge shotgun, and then murdering Lance Cpl. Christopher Q. James with the same weapon 4 days later. In 2007, the same appeals court ruled that Parker, the shooter in both crimes, should remain on death row. He is the only Marine awaiting execution in the military prison system. Walker and Parker were part of a group of 6 black Marines who, on March 26, 1992, randomly selected a white person to kill following a session of heavy drinking and lengthy conversation on the injustices whites inflicted on blacks. Military attorneys representing Walker filed a 497-page brief in 2005 arguing that he should be removed from death row and receive a new trial in the 1st murder based on a host of issues, including his intoxication on the night of the crime and his defense attorneys’ inability to question a crucial witness. The court determined that Walker's intoxication during the 1st murder may mitigate the premeditated nature of the crime. The appeals court also ruled that the original judge improperly denied a request for a continuance at Walker's court-martial, which denied his defense attorneys the opportunity to prepare for trial.