Mandy Locke reports, "Man whose murder conviction was overturned going free," in the Raleigh News & Observer.
Levon “Bo” Jones of Duplin County spent 13 years on death row, convicted of robbing and shooting a well-liked bootlegger. In 2006, a federal judge ordered Jones off death row and overturned his conviction, declaring his lawyer’s performance so poor that his constitutional rights had been violated.
Friday, Jones will become the eighth North Carolina man spared a lethal injection after being cleared of the charges against them. Judges turned the inmates loose after discovering a variety of problems in their cases, ranging from hidden evidence to inadequate defense attorneys.
The latest release comes as the legal system is re-examining the use of capital punishment in North Carolina. The death penalty has been on hold in the state since 2007. It has faced several legal attacks, including a case that challenges doctors’ participation in executions.
The Charlotte Observer runs a longer version of the article with additional reporting by Titan Barksdale, "N.C. death row inmate to go free,".
Two years ago, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle had stern words for Jones' previous defense attorneys when he took Jones off death row. Boyle granted the relief after state courts failed to do so.
Boyle lambasted defense attorneys Graham Phillips Jr. and Charles C. Henderson for performance he deemed "constitutionally deficient." He criticized the lawyers for failing to research Lorden's history well enough to try to discredit her before jurors. He also said they had inadequately prepared to investigate Jones' mental health problems and troubled childhood in attempts to ask the jury to spare Jones the death penalty.
"Given the weakness of the prosecution's case and its heavy reliance on the testimony of Lovely Lorden, there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different."
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