Lynchburg prosecutor won't seek new death sentence

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Lynchburg's chief prosecutor has decided not to seek a new death sentence for the man convicted of killing a couple in front of their young daughters.

According to media reports, Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Doucette said at a news conference Thursday that he will ask a judge to impose the mandatory minimum sentence of life without parole for Leon Winston.

A federal appeals court vacated Winston's death sentence, ruling that his lawyers didn't try hard enough to show he was mentally disabled and therefore ineligible for capital punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week let that ruling stand, sending the case back to Lynchburg Circuit Court for another sentencing.

Winston was convicted of three counts of capital murder in the deaths of Anthony and Rhonda Robinson and her unborn child.