Court Overturns Death Penalty Over Bible Verses

A divided Colorado Supreme Court has thrown out the death penalty in the case of a man who kidnapped and murdered a 25-year-old cocktail waitress after raping her for two hours, because jurors discussed Bible verses during their deliberations.

With a 3-2 vote, the court ordered Robert Harlan's death sentence commuted to life in prison without parole for the 1994 murder of Rhonda Maloney.

Defense attorney Kathleen Lord told the court in oral argument that jurors had gone outside the law to vote for the death penalty for her client. "They went to the Bible to find out God's position on capital punishment," she said.

Prosecutors told the court that jurors should be allowed to refer to the Bible or other religious texts when they deliberate. The district attorney's office is studying the ruling to determine whether or not they will appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

See Also:
Death Penalty Tossed Over Bible Verses