Death row inmate's sentence overturned

Arkansas death-row inmate Frank Williams Jr., left, listens to his attorney Julie Brain during a clemency hearing in Varner, Ark., Monday, Aug. 4, 2008.
Arkansas death-row inmate Frank Williams Jr., left, listens to his attorney Julie Brain during a clemency hearing in Varner, Ark., Monday, Aug. 4, 2008.

— The Arkansas Supreme Court has reversed a death row inmate's sentence because of what the justices called a breakdown in the appeals process.

The state's highest court on Thursday said Frank Williams should be resentenced. The court also reopened his direct appeal.

Williams' attorneys argued that his case deserves another look, in part because they say his previous attorneys weren't effective. An assistant attorney general disagreed during oral arguments earlier this month.

Williams was sentenced to death for the 1992 shooting death of Lafayette County farmer Clyde Spence.

Prosecutors say Williams shot Spence with a .25-caliber pistol after Spence fired him.

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