Supreme Court OKs death penalty for murderer of gay man

[WillParkinson]

Source: The Associated Press

Supreme Court OKs death penalty for murderer of gay man
By The Associated Press
11.10.2009 8:20am EST

(Columbus, Ohio) The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death penalty against an Ohio man who killed and mutilated a man he met in a gay bar in 1985, rejecting a claim that his lawyers erred during the sentencing phase of his trial.

Attorneys for Robert Van Hook had argued that the lawyers who represented him during the sentencing phase of his trial failed to do an effective job.

In its ruling Monday, the high court reversed a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Van Hook killed David Self in Self’s apartment in Cincinnati before robbing him and fleeing to Florida, where he was arrested and later confessed.

Van Hook’s lawyer, Keith Yeazel, says another appeal issue is pending before the 6th Circuit.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray says the death sentence is appropriate due to the “horrific nature” of the crime.

Read more: http://www.365gay.com/news/supreme-court-oks-death-penalty-for-murderer-of-gay-man/

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More: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/10/copy/vanhook.ART_ART_11-10-09_A7_Q8FKJU3.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

[closeupready]

1. Oh, well.

n/t

[alp227]

2. Great job Supremes, given the recent passage of the hate crimes bill

that made it a hate crime to physically attack someone based on suspected sexual orientation.