NEWS (12/18/20) Texas:
The Texas Supreme Court has overturned a ruling by the state’s comptroller that had denied death-row exoneree
’s application for compensation and directed the comptroller to pay Brown the compensation mandated by state law.
Brown was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in 2005. Following his exoneration, he applied for compensation under Texas’ Tim Cole Act, but his application was denied because he had not been adjudicated “actually innocent” at the time charges against him were dismissed. After the trial court reopened his case and declared Brown actually innocent, Brown again applied for compensation. The comptroller denied the application again, this time asserting that the trial court had lacked jurisdiction to issue its declaration of innocence. The Texas Supreme Court admonished the comptroller that it lacked authority to question the trial court’s ruling and said that the comptroller had only a ministerial role in the compensation
Death sentence rejected for teen who killed Kent St student wfmj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wfmj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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COVID-19 continues to surge in Ohio s nursing homes as some facilities begin administering the vaccine. A record of 287 nursing home residents with the coronavirus died during the week ending Tuesday, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Here are your morning headlines for Friday, December 18:
Richland is the state’s lone purple alert county
Ohio reports record number of nursing home deaths
Hudson lawmaker quarantines, misses lame duck session
Death sentence rejected for teen who killed Kent State student
Ohio unemployment claims rise again as pandemic impact felt
Dozens of states file anti-trust lawsuit against Google
Ohio lawmakers approve a number of bills during marathon lame duck session
Ohio Supreme Court overturns death penalty for man convicted of killing Kent State student
Updated Dec 17, 2020;
KENT, Ohio – The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the death sentence of a Ravenna man convicted of fatally shooting a Kent State University student during a February 2016 robbery.
The court upheld the convictions of 23-year-old Damantae Graham, but found the death penalty to be “disproportionate and excessive” due to other factors including Graham’s young age, background, mental health and substance abuse.
Graham had been found guilty in Portage County Court of Common Pleas of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and kidnapping in connection with the death of Nicholas Massa, who was at another man’s apartment in Kent on Feb. 7, 2016 – Super Bowl Sunday – during a robbery.