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Delaware High Court to Hear Appeal by Death Row Inmate

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DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Delaware Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the latest appeal by a death row inmate twice convicted of the 2005 rape and killing of a University of Delaware student.

The  court was to hear arguments Wednesday in the case of James Cooke Jr. The appeal raises several issues but centers on the conduct of a woman who did not answer a questionnaire truthfully before being seated on the jury that convicted Cooke in his 2012 retrial.

Cooke was initially convicted and sentenced to death in 2007 for the murder of Lindsey Bonistall of White Plains, New York.

The Supreme Court overturned that conviction in 2009 because his public defenders, without Cooke's consent and despite his repeated claims of innocence, argued that he was guilty but mentally ill.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs 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.