Court Reverses Death Sentence
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SAN FRANCISCO — The state Supreme Court today unanimously reversed the death sentence of a Los Angeles County man in the 1980 murder-for-insurance of his stepsister’s husband, saying the judge had failed to hold a legally required hearing on the defendant’s competency to stand trial.
The court also found numerous judicial errors during the trial of John Marks, 31, and said they probably would have provided other reasons to overturn his death sentence. The ruling would allow a new trial for Marks but Deputy Atty. Gen. Sharlene Honnaka said a retrial is not a certainty because so much time has passed, the original prosecutor has retired and some of the witnesses came from remote areas and might not be located. Marks was convicted of murdering Ronald Moore, who was shot to death at his home in the community of Valinda, east of Los Angeles.
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