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Friday, October 06, 2006
Ind. Decisions - "Indiana Supreme Court tosses killer's life sentence"
The Indianapolis Star reports on yesterday's Supreme Court ruling in the case of Curtis Cooper v. State. Jon Murray writes:
The Indiana Supreme Court overturned the life sentence of a convicted killer Thursday, saying remarks by Marion County prosecutors denied him a fair trial.
In the 5-0 decision, the judges upheld Curtis N. Cooper's conviction for murder. In April 2002, Cooper kidnapped Selena Orum, 29, who lived on the Northwestside of Indianapolis, and shot her five times, killing her. He was on probation at the time for abusing Orum and resisting law enforcement.A Marion Superior Court jury convicted Cooper in 2004 and recommended that Judge Robert Altice sentence Cooper to life without parole. But deputy prosecutors Jennifer Haley and Brian Poindexter hampered the jury's ability to decide objectively with "a drumbeat repetition assailing Cooper's character," Associate Justice Robert Rucker wrote.
David Wyser, the chief trial deputy prosecutor, said the office would press for the same sentence at a new hearing, focusing on Cooper's criminal history and the details of the crime.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 6, 2006 04:50 PM
Posted to Ind. Sup.Ct. Decisions