WASHINGTON — The Delaware Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that death sentences handed down previously must be converted to life sentences without the possibility of parole.
In August, the state high court ruled that the state's death penalty law was unconstitutional.
Derrick Powell, one of fewer than 20 inmates on the state's death row, challenged his sentence in light of that August ruling and a related US Supreme Court case.
On Thursday, the court ruled that the August decision applied retroactively — applying to death sentences handed down under the law now held to be unconstitutional.
"Powell's death sentence must be vacated and he must be sentenced to" life in prison without the possibility of parole, the court held.
None of the court's five justices dissented from the unsigned Thursday opinion — a marked contrast from the closely divided 3-2 decision in the August case.
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