USA - Tennessee. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Steven James Rollins’ murder conviction.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Steven James Rollins’ murder conviction. Rollins, who is now 48, was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery in the killing of 81-year-old James T. Bussell on Aug. 21, 2001. He was sentenced to death on June 21, 2003 (see), but the penalty was overturned on Apr. 26, 2010 (see) and a new sentencing hearing ordered. That decision was appealed to the higher court, which threw out also his conviction. In the order granting the new trial, the 3-judge panel agreed that Rollins suffered from ineffective assistance of counsel during his trial and that a "biased juror" served on his jury. The problematic juror is identified as "Juror 9." In a 2008 affidavit, the juror allegedly acknowledges he had known Bussell and bought bait from him at least once a week before he was killed. In the case of Juror 9, the appeals court said the juror's failure to volunteer information about his friendship with Bussell constituted "a presumption of bias" and notes there is "nothing in the record to overcome" it. As a result, the panel found Rollins was denied his constitutional rights to a trial by a fair and impartial jury. Sullivan County prosecutor Barry Staubus said the state will appeal the ruling to the Tennessee Supreme Court.