Supreme Court to Review Murder Case

The Supreme Court announced that it will hear the appeal of Joseph Roger O’Dell III, a Virginia death row inmate whose case has drawn worldwide attention and evoked a plea from Pope John Paul II. The court acted two days after blocking O’Dell’s execution for the rape, sodomy and murder of secretary Helen Schartner. O’Dell and his supporters claim he is innocent and insist newly available DNA evidence would prove it. ButThe justices specifically declined to deal with the issue of his guilt in accepting O’Dell’s appeal. Instead it will hear arguments on whether O’Dell’s jury should have been told the convicted murderer could have been sentenced to life in prison without parole as an alternative to death.