Arkansas' highest court has denied a bid to reopen the case of a death row inmate convicted of a 1993 killing at a Little Rock laundry.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday denied Terrick Nooner's request to vacate his death sentence and order a new sentencing hearing in his capital-murder conviction in the killing of Scot Stobaugh. Nooner's attorneys had argued for the new sentencing hearing on grounds the jury didn't consider evidence that he had a troubled childhood.
His attorneys also argued that the jury was incorrectly instructed to evaluate mitigating circumstances only if they existed at the time of the murder.
Justices ruled that Nooner hadn't demonstrated extraordinary circumstances to justify reopening the case for a new sentencing hearing.