Ohio court: New jury can consider death penalty

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s high court has ruled that a new jury can consider the death penalty in the resentencing of a man who killed an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper in 1996.

A federal appellate court set aside Maxwell White Jr.’s death sentence in 2005 but upheld his aggravated murder conviction for the slaying of trooper James Gross after a traffic stop on Interstate 71 in northern Ohio. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled the sentence was improper because of a juror’s bias in favor of the death penalty against White.

In a 5-2 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that consideration of the death penalty by a new jury during his resentencing is not a retroactive application of state laws, which is banned by the Ohio Constitution.