USA - Texas. Charles Mines, who has been on death row since 1989, has agreed to a plea bargain that takes him off death row

Charles Mines, who has been on death row since 1989, has agreed to a plea bargain that takes him off death row. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 27, 2008 threw out the death sentence of Mines, 59, who was convicted of killing an 80-year-old woman in May 1988. The court said Mines deserved a new sentencing trial because jurors didn't properly consider mental illness when they decided he should be executed for the slaying of Vivian Moreno. Mines appeared before State District Judge Gene Knize and entered into the plea agreement accepting a life sentence for capital murder. He also pleaded guilty to 2 new charges of aggravated robbery and accepted life sentences on each of those convictions. As part of the agreement, Mines waived all credit for time already served, waived his rights to appeal and reserved prosecutors the right to seek the death penalty again if he finds a point for appeal. Assistant district attorney Cindy Hellstern said if Mines received a life sentence at a new punishment trial, he immediately would have been eligible for parole. At the time of his original trial, a life sentence meant parole eligibility after 15 years in prison. Another death sentence would have started the appeals process all over again. "This was the best thing we could do to ensure he stays in prison the rest of his life," she said.