USA - Arizona. David Detrich's death sentence tossed out for 3rd time

Death sentence tossed out for 3rd time. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated 2-1 the death sentence of David Detrich, 52, white. Detrich and Alan Charlton picked up hitchhiker Elizabeth Souter in November 1989 and bought $75 worth of cocaine, according to court documents. When the trio were unable to shoot up the drug, Detrich became irate with Souter, stabbed her 40 times and slit her throat. Charlton entered a plea agreement and was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison. Detrich was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991. The Arizona Supreme Court threw out the conviction and sentence in 1994, ruling the judge did not give the jury proper instructions. Detrich was retried, convicted and again sentenced to death, but the 9th Circuit tossed out Detrich's sentence on August 20, 2010 (see), saying defense attorney Harold Higgins didn't do a proper job presenting mitigating evidence or rebutting the aggravation case put on by prosecutors. The Arizona Attorney General's Office appealed the 9th Circuit's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent the case back to the 9th Circuit (see May 19, 2011).