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Nebraska Supreme Court vacates death sentence
LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday vacated the death sentence of a convicted murderer because a panel of judges, not a jury, determined whether he was eligible for the death penalty. The ruling, which deals only with the case of Raymond Mata Jr., follows a federal appeals court ruling Tuesday that threw out more than 100 death sentences in Arizona, Montana and Idaho because the inmates had been sent to death row by judges instead of juries. (Full story) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that juries, not judges must decide if circumstances exist to merit the death penalty. Nebraska also allowed judges to make that determination before the 2002 ruling; however, the federal appeals court that oversees the state hasn't yet to ruled on whether the 2002 decision should be made retroactive, as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. Mata was convicted for the 1999 killing and dismembering of 3-year-old Adam Gomez, the son of his former girlfriend, in Scottsbluff. When he was sentenced in 2000, a three-judge panel decided if aggravating circumstances existed in his case to merit a death sentence, a decision the U.S. Supreme Court said two years later should be made by a jury instead. The state had argued that Mata should have raised the issue at his trial instead. But the state Supreme Court rejected that argument because Mata had a pending appeal at the time the U.S. Supreme Court ruled. Attorney General Jon Bruning was not immediately available for comment Friday. Deputy Scotts Bluff County Attorney Doug Warner said he expected Mata would be sentenced to death again. "I think there's pretty strong facts that would merit a death sentence," he said. Mata's attorney, Jim Mowbray, said he was not surprised by the opinion since it mirrored a similar case in March involving another death row inmate. In Nebraska, judges had made the determination on aggravating circumstances since the Legislature decided in the 1970s that there was the potential of bias by juries. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the legislature changed the law to require juries to determine if aggravating factors are present. A three-judge panel would then pass sentence. Not counting Mata and another man also awaiting resentencing, five men are on Nebraska's death row. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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