USA - South Carolina. Judge Gary Hill has overturned the 2007 death penalty sentence of Fredrick Evins

Judge Gary Hill has overturned the 2007 death penalty sentence of Fredrick Evins, 46, Black, after finding he is mentally retarded. Evins will reappear in court later in the day for resentencing for the murder of Rhonda Ward Goodwin, and to resolve 2 other outstanding cases - the murder, kidnapping and rape involving the 2002 death of Damaris Huff, and the rape of an 83-year-old woman in 1991. Judge Hill overturned Evins' death penalty conviction after a June post-conviction relief (PCR) hearing. A Spartanburg County jury sentenced Evins to death after finding him guilty of killing, raping and kidnapping Goodwin, whose naked body was found on Feb. 15, 2003. She had disappeared from her job two days earlier. Hill agreed with Evins' current attorneys that his defense attorneys during the sentencing phase didn't handle the issue of his intellectual capacity properly, and there is sufficient evidence that Evins is mentally retarded.