Court Overturns Texas Murderer's Sentence:  In a 6-2 decision announced today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of double-murderer Duane Buck.  Mike Ward of the Houston Chronicle reports  that the court determined that a decision by Buck's own lawyers to introduce statistics showing that blacks were more likely to commit crimes may have influenced the jury to sentence him to death.  As a result of the court's ruling, Buck will receive a new sentencing trial.  Buck's guilt was not at issue.  He was convicted of the 1995 murder of his girlfriend, Debra Gardner and her friend Kenneth Butler.  According to police,  Buck barged into Gardner's house armed with a rifle and shot his own sister and Butler. He then chased the woman outside the house and shot her down as her young daughter watched.    

Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty: The Ohio Supreme Court has refused to reconsider claims by a repeat offender  sentenced to death for murdering his girlfriend's ex husband in order collect an insurance payment. According to WFMJ News, Nathaniel Jackson and Donna Roberts were convicted in 2001 after it was discovered that they had plotted together to kill Roberts' ex-husband Robert Fingerhut, and collect the $500,000 life insurance payout. The Ohio Supreme Court refused to reconsider Jackson's ineffective assistance of counsel claim, upholding his previously imposed death sentence. The court's 2016 decision in Ohio v Jackson describes how Jackson and Roberts arranged for Jackson to meet with Fingerhut in his home and kill him.  The victim was shot twice at close range.  An appeal by Roberts, who was also sentenced to death, is still under review.