Prosecutors Appealing New Trial In '96 Clifton Killings

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors in western Colorado plan to appeal a ruling overturning the conviction of a man found guilty in the bludgeoning deaths of a woman and her daughter in 1996. The Daily Sentinel reports that Verle Mangum, was 17 when 42-year-old Janet Davis and her 11-year-old Jennifer were killed in their Clifton home.

He was convicted in 2003 based largely on his confessions and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He later proclaimed his innocence.

Judge James Boyd ruled that Mangum should get a new trial because had ineffective legal representation, including from a lawyer who is now a judge.

Even if his original conviction is upheld after an appeal, the 40-year-old still must be resentenced because of U.S. Supreme Court rulings restricting mandatory life sentences for juvenile offenders.

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