New sentencing hearing granted for KY death row inmate - 14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro

New sentencing hearing granted for KY death row inmate

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Robert Keith Woodall, 38, pleaded guilty to kidnapping Sarah Hansen in 1997. Robert Keith Woodall, 38, pleaded guilty to kidnapping Sarah Hansen in 1997.
GREENVILLE, KY (WFIE) -

A divided federal appeals court has granted a Kentucky death row inmate a new sentencing hearing in the rape and murder of a 16-year-old western Kentucky girl.

Robert Keith Woodall, 38, pleaded guilty to kidnapping Sarah Hansen in 1997 from a Greenville convenience store and was sentenced to death.

A judge overturned that death sentence in 2009 because of improper jury instruction. The US 6th Circuit Court of appeals upheld that ruling Friday.

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