HOUSTON-A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that cleared the way for a new punishment hearing for a Harris County man on death row for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her 2-year-old son nearly 30 years ago in Houston.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says jurors deliberating punishment for Michael Wayne Norris didn't have the proper instructions to consider evidence from his attorneys that showed Norris' good character traits.
Norris, now 58, was convicted in 1987 of the fatal shootings of 38-year-old Georgia Rollins and her son, Keith, at their Houston apartment. Norris at the time already was a convicted murderer on parole.
A federal district judge last year ruled in favor of Norris' appeal. The state appealed that ruling to the 5th Circuit.