In the Fish shooting in AZ, he claimed the guy threatened him.
Fish is sitting in a cell.
Taken from:
http://www.haroldfishdefense.org/II. EXCLUSION OF REFERENCE TO THE SCREWDRIVER
The issue involving the screwdriver has been an issue fiercely debated for almost one and a half years beginning with the Motion for Remand on the original grand jury indictment and carrying forward to this trial. The defendant adamantly maintains that decedent Kuenzli was armed when he charged the defendant. A screwdriver could have killed or maimed Fish, creating deadly disfiguring injuries. The defendant maintains that the jury should at least have been allowed to consider that evidence and to give the screwdriver in the decedent's rear pocket whatever weight that they deemed appropriate.
This Court committed fundamental error when it allowed the prosecutor to argue to the jury that decedent Kuenzli was "unarmed" when, in fact, he was armed with a seven inch screwdriver concealed in his back pocket. The Court's ruling allowed the prosecutor to mislead and deceive the trial jury regarding the existence of this critical evidence. Grant Kuenzli was armed. The prosecutor’s claim that Kuenzli was unarmed was an egregious misstatement, and utterly false. The damage caused by that ruling was irreparable.
The Court had previously ruled that since defendant Fish did not see the screwdriver in decedent's rear pocket, the existence of the screwdriver could not be considered as justification for the shooting. However, the latitude granted to the prosecutor went far beyond this issue. The Court allowed the prosecutor to open the door, and disallowed the defense from presenting evidence refuting the claim that decedent was unarmed.
The importance of the screwdriver was not a fact lost on the state. If it was so insignificant, why did the state send the screwdriver to the state crime lab for forensic investigation and analysis? The Court's ruling took from the jury critical evidence which denied the jury any ability of determining what weight, if any, to give to the screwdriver. By allowing the State to deceive the jury into believing that decedent Kuenzli was unarmed, their verdict was predicated upon a misleading and deceptive state of facts.
This ruling denied to defendant Fish any ability to provide a "complete defense." It prevented him from showing the decedent's capability of inflicting serious physical injury. It created an environment where the jury falsely believed that Grant Kuenzli was unarmed, allowing the prosecutor to argue that one of the two combatants had a powerful 10 mm gun loaded with hollow point bullets while the other had nothing. Under the Court’s rationale, the State would have been allowed to deceive the grand jury into believing that the decedent was unarmed while carrying a loaded .45 caliber pistol concealed in his back pocket based solely upon the fact that the concealed loaded gun could not be seen by Mr. Fish.
The day after the jury verdict, the jury foreman contacted undersigned counsel expressing shock that the decedent was armed with a screwdriver. He indicated that the jury was not aware of that fact and opined that such information may have had a significant impact on their deliberations. The error was critical and fundamental. In support of this point, the defendant incorporates by reference all prior memoranda filed with the Court on the issue of the screwdriver, together with arguments made by the defense at the time of the Court's ruling, are incorporated with this motion by reference. I know it is not an unbiased source, but no one denied the guy had a screwdriver.
Red