Death Sentence Set Aside as Juror Bias Alleged

A federal appeals court set aside the sentence of a longtime deathrow inmate Friday until another court reviews whether a juror in his 1979 trial was biased.

The ruling marks the fifth time this month that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned or delayed a California execution.

Convicted murderer Stevie Lamar Fields argued that a juror in his trial should have been disqualified because the juror’s wife was the victim of crimes similar to those Fields was charged with committing.

Fields was convicted of a Los Angeles crime spree that included the fatal shooting of Rosemary Cobbs, an acquaintance and student librarian at USC, as well as the kidnapping and sexual assault of three other women.