Texas Cop Killer Returns To Death Row

A man convicted of murdering a Houston police officer more than 20 years ago at a traffic stop returned to death row after an appellete court turned away his bid for a life sentence.

Carl Wayne Buntion , now 68, was convicted of murder and given the death penalty for gunning down Officer James Irby on June 27, 1990. The officer was shot five times with a .357 handgun after stopping Buntion's vehicle for a minor traffic violation.

After an appeals court later ruled that the jury instructions were flawed, Buntion won a new sentencing trial, reports KHOU. Jurors were told to consider Buntion's troubled childhood.

"I'm relieved. I'm elated. I feel vindicated," Maura Irby, the officer's widow, told the Houston Chronicle .