State v. Medina
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder, third degree robbery, and aggravated robbery. Defendant was sentenced to death for the murder. A few years later, the trial court vacated the sentence, finding that Defendant's defense counsel was inefficient. Because the jury could not agree on a sentence at the resentencing trial, the judge declared a mistrial. After a second penalty phase trial, the jury determined Defendant should be sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's death sentence, holding, inter alia, that (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's second petition for post-conviction relief and his motion to suppress; (2) the statutory provision for retrial after a hung penalty-phase jury does not result in cruel and unusual punishment; (3) the trial court did not err in its decisions regarding the jury or the jury instructions; (4) the application of the 2009 version of Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-752(G) in Defendant's case did not violate the ex post facto clause; (5) the prosecutor did not commit misconduct; and (6) based on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances present in this case, the mitigation was not sufficiently substantial to warrant leniency.
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