Texas 'sleeping lawyer' verdict overturned

Calvin Burdine came within minutes of execution

A US appeals court has ruled that a man on death row should have a new trial because his lawyer fell asleep during the original murder trial.

Jurors and court officials agreed that lawyer Joe Cannon dozed off up to 10 times for as long as 10 minutes each during Calvin Burdine's 1984 trial in Texas.

A sleeping attorney is the same as no attorney

Lawyer Robert McGlasson

Burdine, 48, was found guilty of murdering his gay lover and sentenced to death.

In October 2000, a lower court had ruled that although Mr Cannon had fallen asleep, it had not been during important bits of the trial and therefore the murder conviction and death sentence were upheld.

He originally confessed to police but now denies the murder.

Reprieve

In 1987, Burdine came within minutes of being executed before a court ordered a reprieve.

His new lawyer, Robert McGlasson, welcomed the 9-5 majority ruling, saying: "Today, finally, common sense has prevailed."

"The full court has affirmed what we have said all along - namely that a sleeping attorney is the same as no attorney and that a death penalty trial conducted under these circumstances violates basic notions of fairness and decency," he said.

US death penalty

38 states have the death penalty

More then 3,700 inmates are on death row

Execution can be by hanging, electrocution, gassing, firing squad or lethal injection

Four states still use the electric chair

This is the third appeal in this case.

In 1999, a new trial was ordered but the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, appealed and the original verdict was upheld.

Mr Cornyn has not yet said whether he will appeal again to the US Supreme Court.

If there is no further appeal, Texas prosecutors must decide whether to hold a new trial or set Burdine free.

Flawed convictions

Since reinstating the death penalty in 1976, Texas has executed 218 people - more than any other state and about a third of the country's total.

Critics say that this is because of the poor standard of lawyers appointed to those who cannot afford to pay for their own defence.

George W Bush has full confidence in the death penalty

However, US President George W Bush, former Governor of Texas, says he is "absolutely confident" that the process works fairly in his home state.

A Columbia University study recently found that two-thirds of convictions which led to the death penalty in the US were overturned on appeal because of "flaws" in the original trials.

Following a spate of such cases, in January 2000 the Governor of Illinois, George Ryan, suspended all executions.