USA - Nevada. The Nevada Supreme Court has overturned the death penalty conviction of Charles Reese Conner

The Nevada Supreme Court has overturned the death penalty conviction of Charles Reese Conner, 65, White. Conner was sentenced to death on July 27, 2010 of 1st-degree murder and 2 counts of sexual assault for raping and beating to death Beth Lynn Jardine, 23, white, on June 3, 1985. Jardine's murder had gone unsolved for 22 years before a Las Vegas cold case detective in 2007 matched DNA recovered from the crime scene with records from a national database. The DNA matched Conner, who was convicted in 1996 of raping and kidnapping a 10-year-old girl. The court today ruled 4-3 that a Clark County District Court judge should have allowed defense attorneys to argue against excusing a black prospective juror during Conner's trial. It will be up to Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson to decide whether to seek a new trial or a plea deal. Conner was linked to the slaying through DNA. He was arrested in 2007 in Arkansas.