Huntsville man’s death sentence overturned
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
Posted Dec 16, 2020
Lionel Francis is shown at the Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville, Ala. on May, 28, 2019 during the penalty phase of his capital murder trial.
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The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals today overturned a death sentence for a Huntsville man convicted of killing his toddler daughter.
In a unanimous decision, the appellate court upheld Lionel Francis’ capital murder conviction but ruled that he be resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is the only other sentence available in a capital case under Alabama law.
In a 33-page decision the five appellate judges unanimously ruled that prosecutors failed to prove an “aggravating circumstance,” which would make Francis eligible for the death penalty. In Alabama, prosecutors must prove at least one aggravating circumstance for someone to be sentenced to death. In Francis’ case, prosecutors argued
Alabama court vacates death sentence for Huntsville man who killed his toddler
Lionel Francis
Posted: Dec 16, 2020 2:50 PM
Updated: Dec 16, 2020 3:08 PM
Posted By: Stephen Gallien
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals vacated a death sentence for a Huntsville man convicted of killing his young daughter.
Wednesday’s court action re-affirmed Lionel Francis conviction for capital murder in the 2016 shooting death of his 20-month-old daughter, Alexandria.
The criminal appeals court issued an opinion sending Francis’ case back to circuit court to impose the only sentence provided by law, which is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Francis was sentenced to death last year based on an aggravating circumstance of his criminal record from North Dakota. The court ruled that previous conviction was a misdemeanor, meaning a death sentence no longer applied.