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Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 17, 2006 23:44:51 GMT -5
Federal case against Robinson is dismissed
A federal judge on Friday granted a request by prosecutors to dismiss a potential death penalty against convicted serial killer John E. Robinson Sr.
U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled if Robinson's convictions and death sentence in Kansas are overturned.
His attorneys had wanted the case dismissed with prejudice, which would have prevented it from being refiled.
Robinson, 62, was charged in U.S. District Court with kidnapping resulting in death, which can be punishable by death.
The federal government filed its case after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the state's death penalty unconstitutional. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death sentences against Robinson and other death row inmates in the state.
Fenner dismissed the case Friday and ordered that Robinson be returned to custody in Kansas.
Robinson, 62, formerly of Olathe, pleaded guilty to 5 killings in Missouri and was convicted of 3 in Johnson County, Kan., over a 15-year period.
He was sentenced to death for 2 killings, those of Suzette Trouten and Izabela Lewicka.
(source: Kansas City Star)
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