Their confessions were tested in court, attacked by defense counsel, and believed by two unanimous juries.
The odds of an innocent man being found guilty by a unanimous jury are close to nil.
Only a majority of the jury,seven, and not a unanimous jury, is required to sentence a person to death if convicted of capital murder.
Two states (Louisiana and Oregon) do not require unanimous juries in non-capital criminal cases.
Should the unanimous jury be replaced by, say, a 10 to 2 vote?
It becomes possible for a unanimous jury to award all 9 points to one song - but this does not occur.
Because a unanimous jury is needed for a guilty verdict, a defendant need convince only one juror of his innocence to avoid a conviction.
Sawyer was convicted by a unanimous jury, which then proceeded to sentence defendant to death.
One unanimous jury said he was not guilty.
But last week, a second jury, also unanimous, said in essence that he was.