Visitors Now: | |
Total Visits: | |
Total Stories: |
Sunday, July 14, 2013
The state of Maryland has freed 13 prisoners convicted of murder, following an appellate court ruling that said jurors were given improper instructions in the decades-old cases.
The 2012 ruling by the state Court of Appeals, Maryland’s highest court, could eventually result in about 200 inmates receiving new trials or being set free, including those convicted of homicide, attempted murder and rape.
Prior to 1980 judges usually told jurors to take into account not just the facts of a case, but what the law meant, effectively eliminating the need to consider the concept of reasonable doubt.