Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence of 63 year old David Eugene Matthews, a Kentucky man who has been awaiting execution for three decades. The ruling overturned a U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had granted a new trial to Matthews, who was sentenced to death in 1982 for the slaying of his estranged wife, Mary "Marlene" Matthews, and mother-in-law, Magdalene Cruse, in Louisville on June 29, 1981. A new trial would have been on reduced charges and likely would have led to Matthews release even if he was convicted, because of the length of time he's already served. Matthews is Kentucky's second-longest serving death row inmate. The state is currently in the process of altering its execution method to comply with a state judge's order. Kentucky has executed three men since 1976. The last person executed was Marco Allen Chapman by injection in November 2008. The state has 35 people on death row.
