FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s Supreme Court has ordered a new sentencing trial for a man serving time for robbery because one of his previous victims unknowingly served on the jury that convicted him.
Johnnie Ray Douglas was indicted in 2006 for robbing two cash advance businesses in Louisville. A prospective juror told the court he was the victim of a robbery while working as a bank teller in 1985 but said the ordeal would not bias him. He was seated on the jury, which convicted Douglas and recommended a 35-year sentence.
After the trial, the juror told the judge he realized during the sentencing phase Douglas was the person who robbed him two decades prior.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Douglas’ conviction but said his sentencing trial was "fundamentally unfair."
