Mo. court rejects death sentence, upholds another

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Supreme Court overturns the death sentence of a man convicted of killing his cellmate while upholding one given by a judge after the jury deadlocked.

The court on Tuesday upheld Michael Taylor's murder conviction for strangling a fellow inmate in 1999. But it ordered a new hearing to determine whether he should be executed. The court ruled prosecutors didn't turn over evidence that could have helped the defense and that defense attorneys were ineffective.

The court upheld Scott McLaughlin's death sentence for fatally stabbing an ex-girlfriend in 2003. A judge ordered that McLaughlin be executed after the jury found that aggravating factors justifying a death sentence were proven but deadlocked on whether he should be executed.