Decision comes after judge declared mistrial last week in case of 75-year-old rancher facing second-degree murder charges.
Prosecutors in Arizona on Monday said they won’t retry George Alan Kelly, the rancher who was recently on trial for shooting and killing an armed illegal alien who trespassed on his property.
The decision comes after a judge declared a mistrial last week in the case of the 75-year-old rancher facing second-degree murder charges, where a lone juror voted against seven other jurors who’d decided Kelly was not guilty.
Fox 10 Phoenix reports:
After the mistrial, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly – or to drop the case.
“Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding this case, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office has decided not to seek a retrial,” Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley told Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink on Monday.
Fink agreed to dismiss the case. He said a hearing would be scheduled later to determine if it would be dismissed with prejudice, which would mean it couldn’t be brought back to court.
The prosecutor’s declaration was praised on social media as a victory for the Second Amendment, property rights, national sovereignty and the right to self defense.
