Jury's use of Bible not unconstitutional

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A California jury's use of a Bible during deliberations wasn't unconstitutional, The Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The jury that convicted Bob Williams Jr. of rape and murder in a 1994 burglary read passages from the Bible aloud in the jury room. Williams was later sentenced to death.

The California Supreme Court agreed unanimously that while it is against the law to use anything other than the evidence presented in court, the verses in question advised obedience to government authority.

Nathan Barankin, communications director for the state attorney general, told the newspaper "the ruling reaffirms existing case law." Barankin was referring to an earlier case in which jurors used Old Testament verse to define murder, the Times said.

"The test is whether extraneous evidence, the Bible or otherwise, that was not presented to the jury during the trial influences the verdict," Barankin told the Times.