California Supreme Court Dumps Triple-Slaying Death Sentence

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The California Supreme Court on Monday overturned the murder convictions and death sentence for a man who killed three people and committed a series of other crimes in San Diego in 1985.

The court ordered a new trial for Billy Ray Waldon, ruling unanimously that a lower court judge improperly allowed Bill Ray Waldon to represent himself at trial despite testimony at an earlier competency hearing that he suffered from paranoia and a thought disorder impairing his ability to think clearly.

The judge overturned a previous decision by another judge who had found Waldon wasnt competent to represent himself.