Death Penalty Trial Delayed for Massachusetts Murders

A federal trial to determine whether Gary Lee Sampson should be sentenced to death for carjacking and killing two Massachusetts men more than a decade ago has been delayed.

The Boston Globe reports that U.S. District Court judge Mark Wolf postponed the trial from February until December after defense lawyers said they would not be prepared for the earlier start.

Sampson pleaded guilty to killing 19-year-old Jonathan Rizzo and 69-year-old Philip McCloskey during a weeklong crime spree in 2001. A jury recommended the death penalty, but a judge later ordered a new trial after finding that a juror had lied about her background.

The 55-year-old Sampson, who was also convicted of killing a man in New Hampshire, appeared in court last week for the first time since being sentenced in 2004.

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Information from: The Boston Globe