Ala. death row inmate's appeal denied

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal court has upheld a lower court decision denying an appeal from Alabama death row inmate Jimmy Dill.
Dill was sentenced to die in the 1988 fatal shooting of Leon Shaw in Birmingham in a dispute over drugs.

Dill had argued that his trial attorney was ineffective and failed to uncover evidence that could have helped him avoid a death sentence. A federal judge in Birmingham rejected the issue in March 2004.

Dill appealed the denial to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which on June 13 said it found "no error" in the district court's ruling.

After Dill's initial capital murder indictment in December 1988, the state offered not to pursue the death penalty if Dill would plead to murder rather than capital murder and agree to life in prison without parole as a repeat offender. Dill rejected the offer, saying he was innocent and an unknown third party had shot Shaw.

Dill went to trial, with the jury convicting him of capital murder and recommending the death penalty 11-1.

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