Appeals Court Rejects Death Row Inmate's Claim

Gary Franklin

ATLANTA (AP) -- A federal court has denied the appeal of a
Georgia death row inmate who argued he received ineffective counsel at his trial.

The ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears one
of the last remaining hurdles for Emanuel Hammond to be executed.

Hammond received the death penalty for the 1988 kidnapping and murder of preschool teacher Julie Love in Fulton County.

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker praised the decision and called Hammond "a violent, career criminal who fully deserves the death penalty for this senseless and heinous crime."

Hammond can move to have the appeals court order reconsidered. He may also appeal to the United States Supreme Court before an execution date can be set in the Superior Court of Fulton County.

Associated Press

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