BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - A federal appeals court has set aside the death sentence given to a Connecticut man convicted of using a baseball bat to fatally beat two people who had been wrapped in duct tape.
The Connecticut Post reports that a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Azibo Aquart, of Bridgeport, but vacated the death penalty after finding prosecutorial misconduct during the cross-examination of now-retired FBI agent.
The ruling orders a U.S. District Court judge in New Haven to conduct a new sentencing hearing on the death penalty. No date has been scheduled.
The 37-year-old Aquart was convicted in 2011 of killing two of the three people who were beaten to death with a bat. Prosecutors say the beatings were sparked by a drug dispute.
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