By Associated Press
Montgomery AL – The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday returned the appeal of an Alabama death row inmate to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and ordered that court to consider Jimmy Davis' claims that he did not have adequate representation from defense attorneys during his trial.
Davis, 36, was convicted of murdering Johnny Hazle, 50, during a robbery at a Calhoun County gas station on March 17, 1993.
Davis is on his second round of appeals through the courts and contends he did not have effective counsel, partly because Alabama does not pay enough to attorneys who represent poor clients.
The Court of Criminal Appeals did not consider Davis' arguments, saying he was procedurally barred from claiming ineffective counsel at this stage in his appeal.
But the Supreme Court in an 8-0 ruling said the appeals court should have considered Davis' arguments concerning ineffective counsel.