Another Arizona death penalty case has been sent back after Supreme Court ruling

The United States Supreme Court has sent another death penalty case back to Maricopa County in the wake of a ruling that could affect many more capital cases in Arizona.

On Monday, the high court overturned the Arizona Supreme Court's refusal to review an appeal from Manuel Ovante, who argued that the trial judge gave him and his jury incorrect sentencing information.

This year, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a total of seven Arizona capital defendants' cases to the lower courts through two separate rulings. Four others also had their cases sent back under a previous, similar ruling. Of these, one man was sentenced to death a second time earlier this year.

Ovante's case took a similar path.

He was accused of driving around Phoenix in June 2008, high on methamphetamine and killing two people in three shootings.

He pled guilty to first-degree murder after a judge erroneously told him he could potentially receive life with parole. But parole had been abolished in Arizona more than a decade earlier, in 1994.

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At his sentencing, the judge mistakenly told the jury that if they sentenced Ovante to life, instead of the death penalty, he would be eligible for parole. The jury sentenced him to death in 2018.

The Supreme Court ruling in a 1994 case known as Simmons v South Carolina set the precedent for defendants to be able to tell juries that they would not be eligible for parole if they were sentenced to life in prison instead of death. But for many years, Arizona refused to apply the ruling.

A 2016 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in Lynch v. Arizona affirmed that the Simmons precedent applied in Arizona, but the Arizona Supreme Court continued to refuse to recognize it.

Supreme Court woes: Arizona faces 'reckoning' in death row cases after ignoring high court precedent for years

In February, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of John Montenegro Cruz, who challenged his death sentence because he was not permitted to tell jurors that if he were given a life sentence, it would be without parole. The high court found that the Arizona Supreme Court was wrong to say Lynch did not apply in Arizona, finding that it was a significant change in the law.

Since the Cruz ruling, several capital cases have been sent back to Arizona for review.

Earlier this year, the high court sent six death row cases back to Arizona trial courts for reconsideration in light of the Cruz ruling. Legal experts say as many as 30 capital defendants in total could be affected by the Cruz decision.

SCOTUS sends cases back to AZ: Supreme Court sends 6 death row cases back to Arizona courts after Cruz ruling

Garrett Simpson, at attorney for Ovante, said it was his understanding that the high court would issue a mandate in a few weeks that will officially return the case to the Maricopa County Superior Court for further proceedings.

"We're hopeful. It's a better day than it was yesterday," Simpson said in response to the ruling. He said he had spoken to Ovante and conveyed the ruling to him. "We're very happy to have the results and we're moving forward to be responsive to the proceedings that may follow."

Reporter Elena Santa Cruz contributed to this story.

Have a news tip? Reach the reporter at jjenkins@arizonarepublic.com or at 812-243-5582. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @JimmyJenkins.Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Manuel Ovante's death penalty case sent back to Arizona after ruling