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Supreme Court Rejects New Trial For Defendant Who Sought To Introduce Genetic Predisposition To Violence Evidence
NMSC News:
SANTA FE The New Mexico Supreme Court (NMSC) Thursday upheld the second-degree murder conviction of Anthony Blas Yepez for the death of an elderly Santa Fe man in 2012.
In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court concluded that a trial court judge properly excluded evidence about Yepez’s alleged genetic predisposition to impulsive violence. The justices rejected the defendant’s request for a new trial.
Yepez was charged with first-degree murder, but a jury convicted him in 2015 of second-degree murder for the death of 75-year-old George Ortiz, evidence tampering and theft of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.
In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court concluded that a trial court judge properly excluded evidence about Yepez’s alleged genetic predisposition to impulsive violence. The justices rejected the defendant’s request for a new trial.
Yepez was charged with first-degree murder, but a jury convicted him in 2015 of second-degree murder for the death of 75-year-old George Ortiz, evidence tampering and theft of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to 22½ years in prison.
Yepez killed Ortiz after a dispute between the victim and his step-granddaughter, who was Yepez’s girlfriend. The couple, who were living with Ortiz, burned his body.
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