Supreme Court orders new review of murder case in which Florida court threw out conviction
By APMonday, March 1, 2010
Court orders new look at Fla. murder case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has thrown out a Florida court ruling favorable to a former male model sentenced to death for fatally stabbing his friend and an office worker.
The justices on Monday ordered the Florida Supreme Court to take a new look at the case of Thomas Rigterink in light of their ruling last week in another Florida case.
The Florida court threw out Rigterink’s conviction and death sentence for the slayings of Allison Sousa, 23, and Jeremy Jarvis, 24. The court cited problems with the Miranda rights warning police gave Rigterink before he confessed to the killings.
But the Supreme Court last week declared Florida’s Miranda warning sufficient, despite complaints it wasn’t clear a suspect could have a lawyer present during questioning.
