Mohave County to retry death penalty case
Every person deserves his or her day in court.
Some of them get more than one.
More than two months after the Arizona Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction - and subsequent death penalty - of Darrell Bryant Ketchner, 57, the Mohave County Attorney's office has decided to retry the case. They have done so despite the fact Ketchner will still remain in prison for the rest of his natural life due to convictions that were not reversed and add up to a 75-year term.
But that time would not be served on death row, where Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith firmly believes Ketchner should be.
On July 4, 2009, a raging Ketchner violated a restraining order and barged into the Pacific Avenue home of his estranged girlfriend, Jennifer Allison.
There, he stabbed Allison's 18-year-old daughter Ariel Allison eight times, killing her. He also stabbed and shot Jennifer Allison in the head. Jennifer survived after a lengthy convalescence, which left her with no memories of that night.
Ketchner was found passed out on the Cerbat Cliffs Golf Course the next day. He had the handgun he used to shoot Jennifer Allison - it was hers - pornographic movies, sex toys, zip ties and medications in his possession.
Prosecutor Megan McCoy prosecuted Ketchner in a trial filled with drama and heartbreak.
Defense attorneys David Shapiro and John Napper never challenged the state's contention that Ketchner killed Ariel Allison and grievously injured her mother. Instead, they argued Ketchner did not intend to kill and maim that night.
Premeditation is a key component of a first-degree murder conviction, but the jury was not unanimous in that aspect of deliberations.
Still, they found three other aggravating factors did exist, and that was sufficient for all 12 jurors to hand down the death penalty.
They also found Ketchner guilty of attempted first-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary and three counts of aggravated assault.
Why was it overturned?
The testimony of a single witness, Dr. Kathleen Ferraro, was sufficient for the Supreme Court to reverse the murder and burglary convictions, but the remaining convictions were upheld.
The high court reversed the murder and burglary convictions because justices believe Ferraro's testimony focused on "domestic violence patterns and the general characteristics exhibited by domestic violence victims and abusers," according to the Supreme Court opinion.
Napper objected to Ferraro testifying during the trial, arguing she would impermissibly create a profile that would unduly sway jurors. The issue was raised on appeal, and the high court agreed with Napper's argument that allowing Ferraro to testify was an abuse of discretion.
Ferraro also testified to separation assault. Jennifer Allison had requested and been granted no less than three protective orders against Ketchner, and one was in effect the night he went to her Pacific Avenue home and killed her eldest daughter and tried to kill her.
Ferraro said abusers are very dangerous when the victim attempts to end the relationship and they use violence to regain control.
Mohave County attorneys disputed the contention that Ferraro offered profile evidence, arguing that Ferraro was called to testify not to show Ketchner fit the profile of a domestic violence abuser profile, but to show the relationship between the two was typical of abusive relationships.
What now?
Chief Deputy County Attorney Jace Zack said the case will begin as if it were on the eve of trial.
While Zack has been advised Napper and Shapiro will again represent Ketchner, Napper is now the Yavapai County Public Defender and by law cannot retry the case. Whoever represents him, taxpayers will pay the bill.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Ketchner remains on death row despite the Supreme Court's reversal of his first-degree murder conviction.
Whether he will be transferred to the Mohave County jail to await trial is up to the defense, said Zack. The issue will be decided based on which location would make it easier for them to communicate with Ketchner - here rather than at the Browning Unit, where death row is, in Florence.
State law calls for such cases to be retried within 90 days from the Supreme Court's decision, but Zack said capital cases "always take longer."
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