(August 19, 2008)—The sentencing retrial for a man convicted of capital murder has been postponed.
Testimony in the case of Billie Wayne Coble is now set to begin next Monday.
Judge Matt Johnson of Waco's 54th State District Court had hoped to begin testimony Tuesday morning, but jury selection, which started on Aug. 4, is taking longer than expected.
So far seven men and five women have been seated for the trial, in which prosecutors will again seek the death sentence.
Coble, 59, spent more than 17 years on death row before a federal appeals overturned his death sentence because certain evidence wasn’t allowed during the punishment phase of his original trial.
In 1990, Billy Wayne Coble was convicted of killing his estranged wife's parents Robert and Zelda Vicha and her brother Bobby Vicha who was a Waco Police sergeant.
In September 2007, the 5th Circuit Court out of New Orleans overturned that sentence because the jury was not allowed to hear evidence that would have explained his mental condition at the time of the murder.
While prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty, Coble could receive a life sentence and thus be eligible for parole based on the laws that were in place at the time of his original conviction.
Defense attorneys hope to convince the jury that Coble has been a model prisoner on death row and that he has changed over the past two decades and is no longer a continuing threat to society.
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