Court: Can man be executed after paperwork mix-up?

[March 22, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will decide whether an Alabama man can be executed after his lawyers missed a paperwork deadline.

The court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from Cory Maples. He is on death row on a murder conviction after his trial lawyers allegedly made mistakes presenting his case.

Maples' appellate lawyers neglected to file an appeal of a judge's ruling that his first lawyers were not ineffective. When the mistake was discovered, the Alabama courts refused to hear the appeal from Maples.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also said that because his lawyer missed the 42-day deadline, Maples lost his chance to appeal his execution.

The court will hear the case later this year.

The case is Maples v. Thomas, 10-63.

[Associated Press]

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