A Texas death row inmate whose conviction was complicated by revelations that his trial judge and the prosecutor had been involved in a romantic relationship has pleaded guilty and agreed to a life sentence to settle his case.
The Dallas Morning News reports Charles Dean Hood will not receive credit for the 23 years he spent on death row.
Hood was convicted for the 1989 fatal shootings of Tracie Lynn Wallace and her boyfriend, Ronald Williamson, at their home in Plano in suburban Dallas.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had ordered a new punishment trial for the 43-year-old Hood on a legal point unrelated to the once-secret romantic relationship between the trial judge, Verla Sue Holland, and Tom O'Connell, the former district attorney in Collin County.
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Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.