Jakeem Towles
LANCASTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
DAN NEPHIN | Staff Writer
A Lancaster city man sentenced to death in 2012 for fatally shooting a hip-hop musician in Columbia two years earlier is getting a new trial, and he won't face the death penalty.
Jakeem Towles, 35, will be retried after a federal judge ruled that one of Towles' appeals attorneys was ineffective for failing to raise the issue that Towles' trial attorney was ineffective.
On Friday, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office withdrew its notice of aggravating circumstances, which is the legal reason prosecutors must give to pursue the death penalty.
In a statement, the DA's office said the federal court's ruling "in no way impugns the work of the prosecution (but) we have nevertheless been ordered to re-try the case by the middle of October, barring extensions requested by defense" and declined further comment.
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