BENTONVILLE -- The Arkansas Supreme Court declined today to reconsider its decision overturning the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of killing his 6-year-old son.
The court overturned Mauricio Alejandro Torres' conviction on April 18 in a 4-3 decision.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sentenced Torres to death Nov. 14, 2016, on the jury's recommendation. Torres of Bella Vista was convicted of capital murder and first-degree battery at the end of a five-day trial.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a petition with the state Supreme Court asking for a reconsideration of its decision. The court issued a decision today denying her request.
The jury found Torres killed 6-year-old Maurice "Isaiah" Torres, who died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista medical clinic.
A medical examiner testified the boy's death was caused by a bacterial infection, the result of being sodomized with a stick. The medical examiner also said the autopsy found multiple healing and healed wounds and blunt-force trauma to the child's head and other parts of his body.
Bill James, one of Torres' attorneys, told jurors in his closing statements that Torres never intended to kill his son and that the stick was used for punishment and not for sexual purposes.
The abuse with the stick occurred in Missouri, but Isaiah died in Benton County.
Torres argued in his appeal that the judge should have ruled the state failed to prove its case for the death sentence. The state Supreme Court agreed, saying prosecutors must prove an element of the rape occurred in Arkansas if the rape is a required element to support the death penalty. Because it happened in Missouri, rape cannot be the aggravating factor behind felony murder, the court said.
Mauricio Torres' wife, Cathy, pleaded guilty to capital murder and was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Mauricio Torres was also convicted of battery and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The state Supreme Court let that conviction stand.
Torres will be retried on the murder charge, prosecutors have said. He will continue to serve his sentence for the battery, they said.
NW News on 05/31/2019