A man serving life in prison in the slayings of four teenage girls in Austin's “Yogurt Shop Murders'' moved closer to a new trial on Monday.
The Supreme Court refused to reinstate Robert Springsteen IV’s conviction by not considering the state's appeal to overturn a 2006 decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The state court had ruled Springsteen got an unfair trial because he was not allowed to cross-examine co-defendant Michael Scott, who had given a statement to police incriminating him.
The Texas court said Springsteen's constitutional right to confront his accuser was violated. Defense attorney Mary Kay Sicola said the state has to give Springsteen a fair trial.
Springsteen was 17 when the crime was committed. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2001. His sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2005 when the Supreme Court ruled executing juvenile killers is unconstitutional.
Scott was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to life in prison. He has raised similar appeals that he was convicted based on statements Springsteen gave to police.
Now the state must either retry Springsteen or release him. Prosecutors say they'll retry him.
Killed during the robbery of the yogurt store were 17-year-old Eliza Hope Thomas; 13-year-old Amy Ayers; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, ages 17 and 15.
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