A Galveston man convicted and sentenced to death in the murder of his toddler stepdaughter had an ineffective lawyer and should be given a new trial, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Wednesday. In a 5-4 ruling, the court found that Santiago Varelas' attorney did not ask for specific jury instructions on how to consider some of the evidence against him. Because the evidence in question was similar in nature to the charged offense, the omission prejudiced the jury against Varelas and severely reduced his chances of being convicted only of a lesser charge, the court said.  Varelas, 25, was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to die for the beating death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter, Leanna Williams. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the girl had suffered physical abuse over the 6 weeks before her death, including fractured ribs, bruises, and burn on her arm and a cut on her face. Prosecutors also presented evidence of several priors acts allegedly committed by Varelas: that he had dunked the girl's head in a swimming pool, thumped the back of her head, made her sit still on a couch for 2 hours and hit her the night before her death. Although Varelas' attorney suggested the girl's mother was the killer, prosecutors said the alleged acts showed a pattern of abuse. "The evidence he committed those injuries was far from definite," said Varelas' appeals attorney, Gary Hart of Austin.  Galveston County District Attorney Michael Guarino did not immediately return telephone message.  Varelas' trial attorney should have requested the jury be told that it cannot consider extraneous acts of evidence unless they believe beyond a reasonable doubt the acts occurred, the court said. Because the extraneous acts were central the state's case, the omission fell below a reasonable standard of representing a client, the court said.  In other court rulings Wednesday: --The court rejected a claim of ineffective trial counsel from death row inmate Brent Ray Brewer, 30, who was convicted of the 1990 robbery and stabbing death of Robert Doyle Laminack in Amarillo. Brewer complained that his trial attorney should have requested that he be examined by a mental health expert.  The court upheld the capital murder conviction of Lonnie Wayne Pursley, 39, who was sentenced to die for the 1997 beating death of Robert Earl Cook, 47, in Livingston. The court denied an appeal from death row inmate Melvin Wayne White, 51, who was convicted in 1999 of the sexual assault and beating death of 9-year-old Beth Gravell of Ozona. (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)