Judge denies Va. inmate’s death sentence challenge

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a Virginia death row inmate’s claim that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in another case precludes his execution.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson dismissed Alfredo R. Prieto’s motion on Wednesday.

Prieto was on California’s death row when a DNA sample connected him to the 1988 slayings of two George Washington University students.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled in a Florida case that a rigid cutoff on IQ test scores cannot be used to determine whether someone is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution.

Prieto’s lawyers say he was intellectually disabled during his Virginia trial’s sentencing phase.

Defense lawyer Miriam B. Airington tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1lDyWzg) that Prieto will appeal Hudson’s ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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