Court overturns murder conviction

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The state's highest court has thrown out a 1999 murder conviction because the judge limited the defense's opening statement. Bruce D. Thompson, 42, of Kansas City, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1997 stabbing death of his live-in girlfriend, Lynn D. Thompson, 32.

But the Missouri Supreme Court said the judge was wrong to prevent Bruce Thompson's attorney from discussing anticipated cross-examination testimony in her opening statement.

The judge's decision left the defense attorney with a four-sentence opening statement, compared to the prosecutor's 25 pages of opening remarks.

Chief Justice Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. agreed the circuit judge should not have limited the scope of the defense lawyer's opening remarks, he wrote that "due to the overwhelming evidence of guilt, there was no reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different" had the circuit judge not erred.