Justices reverse ruling that overturned man’s death sentence

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has thrown out a lower court ruling that overturned the death sentence of an Ohio man convicted of aggravated murder in a 1985 slaying.

The justices ruled Monday that a federal appeals court was wrong to consider the merits of Percy Hutton’s claim that his trial judge gave jurors faulty instructions during sentencing.

The Cleveland man was convicted in 1986 of aggravated murder and other charges. Prosecutors said he fatally shot Derek Mitchell and tried to kill another man in an argument over a sewing machine.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled 2-1 last year that Hutton should be resentenced.