An Alabama inmate on death row is set to receive a reduced sentence after his attorneys argued that a black woman was wrongfully excluded from a jury during the inmate's trial more than 20 years ago. The Montgomery Advertiser reports that the case into the 1991 death of 69-year-old Clarene Haskey will be reopened this afternoon in a Monroe County courtroom. Steven Hall is scheduled to plead guilty to the murder and receive a reduced sentenced of life in prison without the possibility of parole. More than 20 years after the conclusion of the 1994 trial, U.S. District Judge Callie Granade wrote that prosecutors used a pretext to exclude black potential juror Minnie Lett. Prosecutors used nine of their 14 strikes against black potential jury members.
Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.