Supreme Court: Reconsider new trial for convicted Youngstown killer

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision that a condemned Youngstown killer should get a new trial in the death of a 3-month-old boy.

John Drummond was sentenced to death by Maureen A. Cronin, a former Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge, after a jury convicted him in 2004 and recommended his execution for the slaying of Jiyen Dent in a March 2003 Youngstown drive-by shooting.

Drummond was convicted of firing an assault rifle into a Rutledge Drive home on the East Side, hitting the baby in the head while he was in a swing.

The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last August that Drummond should get a new trial.

The U.S. Supreme Court today, however, ordered the appeals court to reconsider that decision in light of a Supreme Court ruling last week. That ruling said a Kentucky death row inmate was not entitled to a new sentencing hearing despite his claim that jurors received faulty instructions.

Drummond’s lawyer, Alan Rossman, says he’ll challenge the decision, arguing that the two cases are different.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com