Jasper McMurtrey

Defendant

Jasper Newton McMurtrey (also identified as Jasper McMurtrey).

Background

McMurtrey was a biker and Ranch House Bar was a biker hangout. McMurtrey claimed he did not want any trouble so he armed himself for self-defense after three men wanted a piece of McMurtrey and invited him outside.

McMurtrey had mental health issues and was found to have competency concerns related to his trial. In March 2003, a federal judge ordered a new trial, ruling that McMurtrey's legal representation had been inadequate. He spent 22 years on Arizona's death row. He was monitored by Pretrial Services and was living out of state; later accounts described him living in South Carolina and adjusting “really, really well” and living a productive, crime-free and substance abuse-free life, including going to school and getting a job.

The offence

On August 10, 1979, McMurtrey became involved in a fight at the Ranch House Bar in Tucson. Three men wanted a piece of McMurtrey and invited him outside. McMurtrey claimed one of the victims pointed a gun at him.

McMurtrey opened fire, killing Barry Collins and Albert Hughes, and wounding the third man. During the 1981 trial, McMurtrey’s lawyers argued self-defense and insanity.

In later proceedings described in the record, McMurtrey was sentenced to death in 1981 for the shooting deaths of Barry F. Collins of North Carolina and Albert Hughes Jr. of New Jersey at the now-defunct Ranch House bar, described as a topless-dancer club and biker hangout at 4950 N. Casa Grande Highway. He was also sentenced to 21 years for wounding another bar patron, Eugene Taylor.

Investigation

Presiding Judge: Jack Arnold.

Trial

Start of Trial: July 1, 1981. Start of Trial (trial timing): July 1, 1981. Verdict: July 13, 1981.

Prosecutors:

• James D. Himelic (Trial)
• Kenneth Peasley (resentencing)

Aggravating Circumstances: Grave risk of death to others. Mitigating Circumstances: None sufficient to call for leniency.

Sentencing

Sentencing: August 28, 1981. Resentencing: November 17, 1983 (first resentencing). Resentencing: April 30, 1985 (second resentencing).

McMurtrey was sentenced to death.

Appeals

Published opinions:

• State v. McMurtrey, 136 Ariz. 93, 664 P.2d 637 (1983).
• State v. McMurtrey, 143 Ariz. 71, 691 P.2d 1099 (1984).
• State v. McMurtrey, 151 Ariz. 105, 726 P.2d 202 (1986).

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling held that McMurtrey’s right to a fair trial was violated when he was convicted and sentenced to death for a 1979 Tucson-area double murder. The ruling was based on a reasonable doubt as to McMurtrey’s mental competence to stand trial, given “McMurtrey’s memory problems, his erratic behavior, and the variety and quantity of medications that he was prescribed, combined with the absence of an expert evaluation made at the time of trial.”

The record included the following verbatim quotation from Judge Harry Pregerson:

“We hold that McMurtrey's memory problems, his erratic behavior, and the variety and quantity of medications that he was prescribed, combined with the absence of an expert evaluation made at the time of trial, created a reasonable doubt as to McMurtrey's mental competence to stand trial,"

Defense attorney Gregory J. Kuykendall was quoted:

“What it means," said defense attorney Gregory J. Kuykendall, "is that Mr. McMurtrey did not ever receive a hearing at the time of his trial to determine whether he was competent to stand trial. And because of the failure to conduct a hearing at that time about his competence and because of a number of factors that seriously indicate that he was, in fact, incompetent, his right to a fair trial was violated."

Tucson attorney Natman Schaye was also described as representing McMurtrey in his appeal.

The record included a verbatim quotation from David Berkman:

“They are weighing their options regarding to the appeal. " and another verbatim quotation: “This is in the hands of the Attorney General's Office," said David Berkman, chief criminal Pima County Attorney.

The record described that the Arizona Attorney General's Office could decide to ask for a rehearing at the 9th Circuit or take an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and that barring appeal, McMurtrey would return to Arizona to find out whether prosecutors would retry him, offer a plea deal or dismiss charges.

The record included a verbatim quotation from Rick Unklesbay:

“We will review the case and determine our options,” Berkman said.

Outcome

McMurtrey’s death sentence was vacated. The record described that after 20 years on death row, he was “free.”

In June 2009, McMurtrey entered a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and manslaughter in the 1979 deaths of Albert Hughes and Barry Collins. In Pima County Superior Court, Judge John Leonardo sentenced him to 21 years on the murder charge and a concurrent 10-year sentence on the manslaughter charge and gave him credit for time served.

A record passage described the factual background for the plea: Hughes and Collins and McMurtrey were in a Tucson bar arguing about how tough they were; they arm-wrestled, bit and chewed glass, and showed off Harley-Davidson tattoos. McMurtrey left the bar, returned with a revolver, killed Hughes and Collins, and wounded a third man.

The record also stated that McMurtrey was released in December 2003 by U.S. District Judge William Fremming Nielsen; it described that Nielsen released McMurtrey saying he did not believe he intended to kill.

Aftermath

Following the conviction overturning and release, the record described that prosecutors could appeal and that the 9th Circuit ultimately upheld Nielsen’s ruling and granted McMurtrey a new trial.

The record stated that the deadline for the new trial had not been met within 180 days, and as a sanction McMurtrey was released from prison.

The record described reasons given for allowing McMurtrey to enter a plea agreement:

• The majority of the witnesses in the cases had died.
• Doctors would have had to try to determine McMurtrey’s mental status 30 years ago.

The record included verbatim quotations from Kuykendall:

“He's gone to school, gotten a job and he's just done extraordinarily well,” Kuykendall said. and: and: “He's adjusted really, really well and has been living a productive, crime-free and substance abuse-free life,” Kuykendall said. and: “It's a real tribute to the power of redemption.”

The record described that if doctors had ruled McMurtrey was incompetent at the time of the slayings, trial transcripts would be inadmissible because McMurtrey, if incompetent, would have been unable to assist in his defense at the time of the trial and incompetent to testify. It also stated that Leonardo could not have given McMurtrey more than 21 years on the murder charge because that was the maximum sentence at the time of the slayings, and that the manslaughter charge could have been run consecutively but the judge opted not to do so because McMurtrey had remained out of trouble since release from prison.

Victims

Barry Collins (Barry F. Collins), described as from North Carolina. Albert Hughes (Albert Hughes Jr.), described as from New Jersey. Eugene Taylor, described as a bar patron who was wounded.