Man taken off death row
By JUSTIN AVERETTE / News Editor / Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:01 PM CDT
LaSamuel Gamble, 29, no longer faces the death penalty for his role in the 1996 murders of two people at a pawnshop on Highway 280.

Gamble and co-defendant Marcus Presley were both sentenced to die for the execution-style shootings of John Burleson and Janice Littleton at John's 280 Pawn July 29, 1996.


LaSamuel Gamble (Special / Alabama Department of Corrections)


However, Shelby County Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner ruled Wednesday that Gamble will be given a new sentence hearing for a "sentence other than death."

In his ruling, Joiner wrote Gamble's legal counsel should have looked into his background of childhood neglect and drug abuse during the penalty phase of the trial.

Gamble also citied the greater fault of Presley, who actually shot the two victims. Presley's death sentence was overturned in 2005 by a Supreme Court ruling that banned the execution of people who commit crimes as juveniles.

In 1996, Gamble was 19 and Presley 16.