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Death sentence overturned for TPD officer's convicted killer

State of Arizona has one week remaining to decide if it will again pursue a death sentence

A lawyer for John Montenegro Cruz, on Arizona’s death row for the 2003 murder of Tucson police officer Patrick Hardesty, has told the U.S. Supreme Court that jurors in the case were wrongly told that the only way to ensure the man would never walk free was to sentence him to death.

By: KGUN 9 News Staff

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — John Montenegro Cruz, previously sentenced to death after a 2005 murder conviction for the killing of Tucson police officer Patrick Hardesty, will receive a new sentence for his crime after a major court ruling.

The Supreme Court sided with Cruz back in February, vacating his death sentence. His attorneys argued that, according to precedent, Cruz's jury should have been told they had an option to give him a life sentence, and that a life sentence would have made him ineligible for parole.

READ THE SUPREME COURT RULING IN CRUZ V. ARIZONA

In November the Pima County Superior Court issued a ruling that Cruz is entitled to a re-sentencing. The state has a week to determine if they will again pursue a death penalty for Cruz.

Hardesty was investigating a hit-and-run in midtown at the time he was killed.

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