USA - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ordered a new penalty trial for Gary Lee Sampson

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ordered a new penalty trial for Gary Lee Sampson, 53, White, for the 2001 slaughters of 3 men in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Court upheld U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf's controversial ruling of May 10, 2012 (see) vacating the federal death sentence of Sampson based on Wolf's finding that 1 of the jurors lied during her selection process about her family's criminal history, thus violating his constitutional right to an impartial jury. "This case is a stark reminder of the consequences of juror dishonesty," the appeals court said in its decision. "Jurors who do not take their oaths seriously threaten the very integrity of the judicial process." Sampson went on a weeklong rampage in July 2001, carjacking and killing Philip McCloskey, 69, and Jonathan Rizzo, 19. He drove Rizzo's car to Lake Winnipesaukee and killed Robert Whitney, 58.