North Carolina

A judge has vacated the death  sentence for a convicted murderer whose picture appeared in an international      anti-capital punishment campaign, saying proper court procedures weren't      followed in the case.      Bobby Lee Harris, 35, had been one of 26 death row inmates featured in      Italian clothing maker Benetton's anti-death penalty ad campaign last year.      His story drew even more attention when a German woman who saw his photo      moved to North Carolina saying she wanted to marry him.      In vacating the death sentence, Superior Court Judge Wade Barber said the      process had been flawed because one judge presided over Harris' trial and      another judge presided during his sentencing.      The judge also said the trial jury was dismissed +without good cause; and      replaced with a second jury that was +without authority to hear the penalty      phase of the trial.;  +The law provides that every criminal trial shall be      conducted in one session of court, by one judge and one jury,; Barber's      ruling stated.      +It's a relief,; said Dan Shatz, who has represented Harris since      sentencing.      The state attorney general's office was reviewing the ruling and declined      comment Monday.      Harris still is being held on a 40-year sentence for robbery with a      dangerous weapon, a 40-year sentence for second-degree burglary, a 10-year      sentence for larceny of a firearm and a 10-year sentence for auto larceny,      said Keith Acree, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. Acree said      the death sentence still stands and Harris likely will be resentenced.      Corrections officials had not received a copy of the order late Monday,      Acree said. When the paperwork is received, likely in a few days, Harris      will be transferred off death row.      Harris, 35, confessed to the 1991 stabbing death of commercial fisherman      John Redd and admitted stealing his truck and about dlrs 80.      His sentencing was delayed by six months because his defense lawyer was      battling bone cancer and the attorney who replaced him needed time to      prepare. The jury was dismissed in the meantime.      Harris had been scheduled to die by injection Jan. 19, but got a reprieve      hours before his execution when the state Supreme Court upheld a stay issued      by Barber.      The case took another twist when Dagmar Polzin said she fell in love with      Harris after seeing his picture in the Benetton ad on a Hamburg, Germany,      bus stop. Polzin, 32, left her job as a waitress in Germany and moved to      North Carolina, intending to marry Harris.