USA - Texas. The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a judge's finding that Paul Storey should be resentenced to life in prison

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a judge's finding that Paul Storey should be resentenced to life in prison after prosecutors falsely said at trial that the murder victim's family wanted the death penalty. The state’s highest criminal court Wednesday rejected the trial court judge’s recommendation to resentence Storey to life in prison without the possibility for parole after a three-day hearing last year. Storey’s sentence was being reconsidered after it became known that Tarrant County prosecutors falsely said at his 2008 trial that the family of Storey’s victim, Jonas Cherry, wanted the death penalty. Cherry’s parents have since said that they have always opposed capital punishment, including for their son’s killer. In Wednesday’s ruling, the court explained that it was taking the unusual step of opposing the trial judge, who it acknowledged “is in the best position to assess the credibility of the witnesses.” While the court order didn't argue against the finding that Storey's trial lawyers were unaware of the Cherrys' opposition, it ruled that one of his appellate attorneys — who is now dead — might have known, claiming there was no evidence to show he didn't. The judges also ruled that since Cherry’s father said he often talked about his anti-death penalty views, the appellate attorney, Robert Ford, could have found out through “the exercise of reasonable diligence.”