The Ohio Supreme Court says judges in five Cuyahoga County rape cases wrongly applied sentences according to the law at the time the crime occurred, rather than using the law at the time of conviction.
The terms were usually longer, meaning some of the inmates will receive shorter sentences under Wednesday's ruling.
One case involves the sentence for a death row inmate in a rape case unrelated to his slaying of a Cleveland police officer in 2000.
On June 25, 2000, Cleveland Police Officer Wayne Leon was shot and killed while stopping a man suspected of being in a shooting on the previous day. At the time, Bryan, 43, was on parole from a 10-year sentence for a 1995 attempted robbery conviction. He was found guilty of aggravated murder of a police officer in November, 2000 and sentenced to death.
Wednesday's decision means Quisi Bryan's rape sentence of eight to 25 years could be reduced to between three and 11 years. The ruling doesn't affect his death sentence.
The court also upheld sentences in another nine cases in which judges imposed sentences according to the law at the time of conviction.
