Conviction, Death Sentence Overturned
by TChris
The Ohio Supreme Court today reversed the conviction and death sentence imposed upon Terrell Yarbrough, ruling that he could not be prosecuted in Ohio for murders that occurred in Pennsylvania. The court had harsh words for the players in the case who evidently overlooked the jurisdictional issue.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer criticized prosecutors, defense attorneys and the trial judge for not recognizing the murder case shouldn't have been brought in Ohio. "One would expect that those charged with the responsibility of participating in the prosecution of a defendant who is subject to the ultimate penalty would exercise more diligence," Moyer said.
Yarbrough is alleged to have kidnapped and robbed two people in their Ohio apartment, and to have killed them in Pennsylvania, twelve miles away.
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