Conviction Voided in Triple Murder

In a 2-1 decision late Friday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sent the case of Max Alexander Soffar, who faced execution for a triple murder at a Houston bowling alley, back to district court. Justices said police violated Soffar’s rights during questioning and lawyers had given him inadequate representation. Texas must free Soffar unless a retrial begins within 120 days. Soffar, 45, confessed to a 1980 Houston bowling alley robbery and the fatal shooting of Alane Felsher, 17; Tommy Lee Temple, 17; and Stephen Allen Sims, 25. A fourth shooting victim, Gregory Garner, 18, survived but has permanent brain damage and lost an eye. The appeals court determined Texas violated Soffar’s constitutional rights by questioning him despite his request for a lawyer and by questioning him while he was being held on a different offense. Soffar has said he was a drug addict who confessed in order to be executed because he wasn’t brave enough to kill himself.