USA - Arizona. The Arizona Supreme Court overturned Darrell Bryant Ketchner's murder conviction.

The Arizona Supreme Court overturned Darrell Bryant Ketchner's murder conviction. On March 25, 2013 (see) a Mohave County jury sentenced Darrell Bryant Ketchner, now 56, white, to death for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend's daughter, 18-year-old Ariel Allison on July 4, 2009 and shooting and wounding her mother, Jennifer Allison. Judge Rick Williams formally sentenced Ketchner on May 3, 2013 (see). Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments in Phoenix in October when attorney David Goldberg argued prosecutors and Judge Rick Williams improperly allowed a witness deemed an expert in domestic violence to profile such cases during Ketchner's trial. The testimony, Goldberg argued, might have unduly influenced the jurors' opinions regarding Ketchner's intent on the night of July 4, 2009, when he stabbed Ariel Allison, 18, multiple times and stabbed her mother, Jennifer Allison, before he shot her with her own gun in the back of the head. The Supreme Court agreed. Ketchner's attorneys never denied Ketchner committed the murder and attempted murder. The defense strategy all along was to spare Ketchner from the death penalty. To do that, they had to convince the jury that Ketchner did not enter the Allison home that night with the intent to commit a felony - an essential element of the crime that made him eligible for the ultimate punishment. Part of that effort came when defense attorney John Napper, now the Yavapai County public defender, vigorously opposed the testimony of Dr. Kathleen Ferraro, who explained the issue of separation assault, which occurs after one party attempts to break off a relationship and the other party resorts to extreme violence in order to regain control of that person. Napper filed court documents arguing Ferraro should not be allowed to testify before the trial began. In addition to giving Ketchner the death penalty for Ariel Allison's murder, Williams sentenced him to an additional 57 years for his other convictions. While Ketchner will likely be removed from death row pending his retrial, he will remain in prison on those sentences. Chief Deputy County Attorney Jace Zack indicated the case would be retried, there are logistical issues to consider. "We are analyzing the case and the availability of witnesses," said Zack. "Then we'll decide how to proceed. This shouldn't be fatal for a retrial, but it will take some time." Still to come is a decision on whether to again seek the death penalty.