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Death Row Inmate Asks High Court Review of Ineffective Counsel Argument

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law enforcement

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia death row inmate convicted of hiring a man to kill his ex-girlfriend is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case.

Ivan Teleguz claims in a petition recently filed with the Supreme Court that he hasn't had a fair opportunity to show that his defense attorneys provided ineffective counsel during his 2006 trial.

Teleguz, who's from Ukraine, was set to be executed on April 13. But the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted Ivan Teleguz's execution in March, pending review of his petition by the nation's highest court.

Teleguz was sentenced to death in 2006 for hiring a man to kill his former girlfriend, Stephanie Sipe, in Harrisonburg. Since then, two key prosecution witnesses have recanted, which Teleguz's attorneys say raises serious questions about his guilt.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.