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GALVESTON - The state bail of a former death-row inmate awaiting retrial on a capital murder charge will remain at $1 million despite criticism from a federal judge who called it "excessive and oppressive." The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March threw out Anthony Graves' 1994 capital murder conviction when it found that prosecutors withheld evidence and elicited false testimony. Authorities decided to retry Graves. His $1 million bond was set last month by Burleson County District Judge Reva Towslee-Corbett. The judge set the bond without holding a hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner said Friday that although the $1 million bond might be excessive and there probably should have been a hearing before bond was set, Towslee-Corbett had broken no law. "I can agree with you that it sounds pretty excessive and pretty oppressive, but that's the business of the state court," Froeschner said. Froeschner's decision not to interfere means Graves will be returned to the Burleson County Jail in Caldwell. Jeff Blackburn, of Amarillo, one of three attorneys working for Graves for free because they say they believe he is innocent, said the $1 million bond was "a ridiculous amount designed to do nothing but keep him locked up." Froeschner said Graves would have to appeal the bond through the state court system before the issue could return to federal court. Blackburn said the defense had already begun that process. Graves was convicted in 1994 for the deaths of Bobbie Joyce Davis, 45; her 16-year-old daughter, Nicole; and four grandchildren ages 4 to 9. The victims were shot, stabbed and beaten on Aug. 18, 1992, and their home was set on fire to conceal the crime. Towslee-Corbett on Thursday appointed Assistant Attorney General Julie Ann Stone as interim special prosecutor to retry Graves. The case had no prosecutor for more than two weeks after the request by Renee Mueller, district attorney for Burleson and Washington counties, to recuse her office. Mueller recused her office after Towslee-Corbett ruled that Assistant District Attorney Joan Scroggins, part of the team that prosecuted Graves in 1994, could not participate in the prosecution. |