The San Francisco-based appeals court said Sechrest's death sentence couldn't stand because his rights were violated by "false, inflammatory statements" and "gross misconduct" by a prosecutor during his trial.
The prosecutor "misled the jurors to believe that if they did not impose the death penalty, Sechrest could be released on parole and would kill again," the court said, adding that the trial judge "did nothing to stop the prosecutor from making these erroneous assertions."
The court also said Sechrest had inadequate legal counsel, noting that some of the most damaging testimony during the penalty phase of his trial was elicited by his own lawyer — from a witness the attorney had originally selected and could have prevented from testifying.
The case was remanded to lower courts in Reno, where the federal court said lawyers for Sechrest could try to have his murder convictions overturned.
If the convictions stand, the appeals court said a lesser sentence could be imposed or another penalty phase proceeding would be needed. In the meantime, the court said Sechrest must be removed from death row at Ely State Prison.
Sechrest got the death sentence after confessing to killing Maggie Schindler, 10, and Carly Villa, 9, after taking the girls from an ice-skating arena. The girls' bludgeoned bodies were found in a shallow grave by a hunter in hills east of Reno.
Sechrest, the grandson of the woman who babysat one of the girls, admitted he tricked the girls into his car and drove them to the isolated area but said he didn't intend to kill them.
He claimed one of the girls panicked and he hit her with a shovel. Thinking she was dead, he then murdered the other girl. When he discovered the first girl was still alive, he beat her again with the shovel until she was dead.
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