USA - Nevada. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence of Ricky David Sechrest

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence and ordered a new penalty hearing in the case of Ricky David Sechrest. Sechrest, now 47, was convicted in 1983 after confessing to killing Maggie Schindler, 10, and Carly Villa, 9, after taking the girls from an ice-skating arena. He was sentenced to death. But the appeals court, which had denied a previous appeal of Sechrest, ruled today that the prosecution had committed an error during the penalty phase by continually saying the killer needs to be put to death or he will eventually be released to harm other children, adding that the trial judge "did nothing to stop the prosecutor from making these erroneous assertions." The court also ruled the defense attorney was deficient by permitting his defense psychiatrist to testify for the prosecution at the penalty hearing. It said the testimony of the psychiatrist was “some of the most damaging” in swaying the jury to return the death penalty. (sources: Las Vegas Sun, Associated Press, 05/12/2008 )