Federal appeals court reinstates death sentence for Army officer

ATLANTA - In an unanimous ruling, a federal appeals court reinstated the death sentence against a former Army officer on Friday who fatally stabbed his wife 13 years ago. <br> <br> Last year, U.S. District Judge Orinda Evans said deficient performances by Willie James Hall&#39;s attorneys undermined her confidence in the jury&#39;s decision to sentence Hall to death. <br> <br> Hall, 46, stabbed Thelma Carlisle Hall of Clarkston several times in the neck while she begged him to stop as she called DeKalb County police July 11, 1988. <br> <br> Evans upheld Hall&#39;s murder conviction but said his lawyers ``elicited little if any mitigation testimony&#39;&#39; on their client&#39;s behalf during the sentencing phase of the case. <br> <br> A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the sentencing phase was not constitutionally flawed.