Death penalty vacated for 1985 Pittsburgh killer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A judge has vacated the death sentence of a man twice convicted of the 1985 murder and robbery of a printing store clerk in Pittsburgh.

Judge Jeffrey Manning of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court approved the deal today because prosecutors sought an end to repeated appeals by Salvador Carlos Santiago, who is now 46. Santiago will now spend life in prison.

Santiago was first convicted in 1986 of killing Patrick Huber, who worked for Minute Man Press. Santiago won a new trial on appeal, but was convicted again in 1993 and sentenced to death.

Santiago killed Huber on Jan. 17, 1985, two days after Santiago fatally shot a convenience store clerk in New Castle, where Santiago lived at the time.

Santiago filed a federal court appeal after Gov. Ed Rendell signed his death warrant in 2004.