Court throws out ex-SA gang member's death sentence

SAN ANTONIO A former San Antonio street gang member condemned for killing a woman during a robbery is getting a chance for a new sentence.
The death sentence of Gabriel Gonzales has been thrown out by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

The court says defense lawyers at his 1997 trial should have shown jurors evidence that Gonzales was sexually abused as a child -- and the resulting post-traumatic stress disorder followed him into adulthood.

Yesterday's ruling upholds the conviction, but allows Gonzales to have a new sentencing trial.

Louella Hilton was gunned down during the 1994 robbery of the pawnshop she operated with her husband.

Gonzales, one of five charged in the slaying, was identified as the triggerman.

Susan Reed, who's now the Bexar (BEAR) County district attorney, was the presiding judge at trial. The case is now handled by a special prosecutor.

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=5563564