State of Arizona v. John Michael Allen

Summary

The court affirmed Allen’s convictions for first-degree murder and child abuse, his death sentence, and the sentence for count 3. It held that substantial evidence supported the Enmund/Tison eligibility finding and the cruelty and heinous-or-depraved aggravators, and that the challenged jury instructions, penalty-phase weighing, and prosecutorial argument did not constitute reversible or fundamental error. The court vacated the sentences for counts 2, 4, and 5 because the statutory requirements for the enhancement or aggravated sentences were not satisfied, and remanded for resentencing on those counts.