DEATH ROW Trial to give murder case a second look

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A federal appeals court has overturned its earlier decision to throw out an Ohio death row prisoner's conviction in a 1984 slaying of a Guernsey County woman.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside Tuesday a three-judge panel's April 28 decision to grant a new trial for John D. Stumpf in the shooting of Mary Jane Stout. The full, 12-judge court now will rehear the case.
Attorney General Jim Petro welcomed the ruling. Lawyers from his office will argue that Stumpf knowingly killed Stout and was properly convicted and sentenced to death, spokeswoman Kim Norris said.
A message requesting comment was left with Alan Freedman, a lawyer representing Stumpf.
In April, a three-judge appeals panel ruled 2-1 that Stumpf's guilty plea to aggravated murder was unconstitutional. The appeals court, reversing a 2001 lower court ruling, said then that Ohio would have the option to retry Stumpf within 90 days.
Uninformed plea
At that time, two appeals judges said the trial record indicated Stumpf wasn't fully informed as to the possible consequences of his plea, and that the state failed to meet its burden of demonstrating the plea was voluntary.
Stumpf, 43, remains on death row at the Mansfield Correctional Institution. He was sentenced to die because he was found to have committed murder to escape capture and punishment for other offenses, including robbery and attempted murder. There is no date for his execution while his appeal is pending.
Stumpf said that his accomplice, Clyde Wesley, shot Stout.
Wesley was separately convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and aggravated robbery and is serving a life sentence. Authorities said Stumpf and Wesley entered the house to rob its occupants and that the woman was killed after her husband was shot twice in the head, but survived.