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Judge tosses out Jacksonville man's death sentence

Death Penalty
Posted at 8:47 AM, Oct 06, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-06 08:47:00-04

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The judge who ordered a Jacksonville man to death row in 1998 now says his lawyers did an ineffective job representing him.

On Monday Circuit Judge Henry Davis threw out the conviction of 46-year-old Raymond Morrison Jr., saying errors committed by attorneys Refik Eler and Christopher Anderson led him to believe their client never had a fair chance at trial.

Morrison was convicted of slashing the throat of 81-year-old Albert Dwelle and has spent 17 years on death row.

According to The Florida Times-Union (http://bit.ly/1LfwVJp ) Morrison's new lawyer Martin McClain says the previous lawyers didn't investigate the case before defending him at trial.

The state attorney's office says it will appeal Davis' ruling to the Florida Supreme Court.

Morrison will remain on death row during the appeals process.

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Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com