Federal death penalty law is ruled unconstitutional. This is only somewhat of a bombshell, because only a particular law involving the death penalty is being ruled upon and not the death penalty itself.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions said the law does not adequately protect defendants' rights.

"If the death penalty is to be part of our system of justice, due process of law and the fair trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment require that standards and safeguards governing the kinds of evidence juries may consider must be rigorous, and constitutional rights and liberties scrupulously protected," he said.