A man who’s been on death row since the 1990s should soon be free after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder in Pima County Superior Court on Thursday.
The murder conviction of Barry Jones was thrown out in 2018 by a federal judge but then the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it last year.
Jones was convicted of killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter.
But his trial lawyer did no investigation and missed medical evidence that would have cleared Jones of the most serious charge.
Then the lawyer Jones had while facing the death penalty failed to review what his first defense lawyer did. Kat Jutras is with Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona.
“We as an organization are thrilled that Barry is getting another chance at life. He’s been locked up since he was 34 years old and he is now 64,” Jutras said.
Court records show that Jones was resentenced to time served as part of a deal with state prosecutors.
