Scott Nordstrom Resentenced to Death in 2 1996 Arizona Murders

[Jeff1857]

A man facing resentencing in a high-profile 1996 murder case will be able to present alibi evidence at his death-penalty resentencing trial.

The Arizona Supreme Court declined Tuesday to review a lower court decision allowing alibi evidence for Scott Douglas Nordstrom, 41.

Nordstrom was given six death sentences for convictions in the slayings at the Moon Smoke Shop, 120 W. Grant Road, and the Firefighters Union Hall, 2264 E. Benson Highway, along with co-defendant Robert Glen Jones.

Nordstrom's convictions and sentences were upheld on appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, but the case was sent back for resentencing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that juries, not judges, should decide death sentences.

Nordstrom claims it was his brother David M. Nordstrom who actually committed the killings and that he has witnesses to prove it.

The recent legal issue involves the "Enmund-Tison" phase of the resentencing trial, named after Florida and Arizona cases, in which death can't be imposed unless the defendant either actually killed, tried to kill, intended a killing to occur or was a "major" participant in the felony committed and acted with "reckless indifference" to human life.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Nichols, who is presiding over Nordstrom's resentencing, ruled in February that defense attorney David Alan Darby could present alibi evidence.

Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay argued that allowing Nordstrom to present alibi witnesses at the resentencing is tantamount to allowing his residual doubt defense.

"Once he was found guilty, the remaining question is the degree of his participation, not whether he participated," Unklesbay said last year.

Unklesbay appealed Nichols' ruling to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

A unanimous three-judge panel at the appellate court ruled in September that "although the (resentencing) jury could conceivably accept Nordstrom's alibi evidence for the purpose of determining he had not been a major participant in the underlying crimes," that doesn't affect the trial jury's guilty verdicts.

David Nordstrom, 39, served a four-year sentence for armed robbery in exchange for his testimony against his brother and Jones.

Jones, 39, is appealing his convictions and death sentences in federal court.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/106949.php

[Michael]

Quite a nice family... 

Michael

[Jeff1857]

A Pima County jury decided Friday that because Scott Nordstrom, 41, killed multiple people in 1996, he should be considered for the death penalty.
The jury will return on Tuesday to listen to evidence that will help it decide if he should receive a lethal injection.
Nordstrom was convicted of participating in two robberies that resulted in the deaths of six people in 1996. A Pima County judge sentenced Nordstrom to death in 1998, but the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June 2002 that juries, not judges, must sentence defendants in capital cases.
As a result, prosecutors and defense attorneys spent much of the past week selecting a new jury whose sole duty will be to determine Nordstrom's sentence.
On Friday, Deputy Pima County Attorney Kellie Johnson asked jurors to make Nordstrom eligible for the death penalty, saying Nordstrom was convicted of shooting Thomas Hardman, 28, and Carol Lynn Noel, 50, in separate incidents.
Two witnesses were called to the stand to testify verifying those convictions, a former Tucson Police Department detective and Nordstrom's former defense attorney.
Defense attorney David Darby waived his right to argue the matter before the jury, but told Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Nichols the state didn't prove its case.
Darby argued that while Nichols himself read a statute to jurors saying first-degree murder is punishable by life in prison or death, Johnson and fellow prosecutor Rick Unklesbay didn't call any witnesses to prove that fact.
"This case is over," Darby said.
Nichols rejected Darby's argument and the jury was sent out to deliberate. It reached its decision in 30 minutes.
Nordstrom and Robert G. Jones Jr. entered the Moon Smoke Shop on May 30, 1996, to rob the place and each ended up killing someone.
Two weeks later, the pair went into the Firefighters Union Hall, where Jones shot three customers in the head, killing them. Nordstrom killed the bartender when the bartender was unable to open the safe.
Both cases were solved when Scott's brother, David Nordstrom, the getaway driver in each robbery, contacted police. David Nordstrom was sentenced to four years in the case.
Jones' death sentence was upheld before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out all death sentences rendered by judges.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/metro/305928.php

[Jeff1857]

Scott Nordstrom, killer of 6, gets death penalty


The man convicted of killing 6 people in 2 separate robberies has been sentenced-- again-- to death row.

Scott Nordstrom has maintained all along he didn't do it. He read from a prepared statement Tuesday to the court that detailed his innocence.

The jury remained unconvinced, however, of his appeal. The group of men and women decided Thursday that he should be placed on death row.

Nordstrom was originally convicted in 1996 for killing 6 people in 2 separate armed robberies at the Moon Smoke Shop and Firefighters Union Hall.

According to police, Nordstrom shot a bartender at the Firefighters Union Hall in the head when he failed to open the safe.

Nordstrom's brother-- David Nordstrom-- was the getaway driver in the deadly robberies. He confessed to police in 1996.

The original sentence of death for Scott Nordstrom was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2002 after judges ruled that juries, not judges could decide death penalty cases.

(source: KOLD News)

[Jeff1857]

TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - The man convicted of killing 6 people in two separate robberies has been sentenced-- again-- to death row.

Scott Nordstrom has maintained all along he didn't do it. He read from a prepared statement Tuesday to the court that detailed his innocence. 

Nordstrom was originally convicted in 1996 for killing 6 people in two separate armed robberies at the Moon Smoke Shop and Firefighters Union Hall.

According to police, Nordstrom shot a bartender at the Firefighters Union Hall in the head when she failed to open the safe. 

Nordstrom's brother-- David Nordstrom-- was the getaway driver in the deadly robberies. He confessed to police in 1996.

The original sentence of death for Scott Nordstrom was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2002 after judges ruled that juries, not judges could decide death penalty cases.

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=11004922

[Michael]

I hope this was the last time that a court has to consider his sentence.

Michael

[Jeff1857]

For Rick and Leann Bell, the murders of their parents at the Firefighters Union Hall June 13, 1996 has only been the beginning.

Each admits to battling substance abuse after the murders, and each wishes to move on from the case.

Yet it goes on.

Scott Nordstrom had earlier been sentenced to death for the shootings at the union hall and two others at the Moon Smoke Shop.

Robert G. Jones, Jr., is also on death row for the killings.

David Nordstrom, Scott's younger brother, received a lighter sentence in exchange for his testimony, testimony that played a key role in convicting the other two.

In the case of the firefighter's hall, the killers left four dead bodies and took with them less than $800 in cash.

In 2002, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that juries, not judges, should impose the death penalty.

A panel of Pima County jurors did just that in August, giving Nordstrom two death sentences.

"Today was a complete waste of time and emotion for everybody," said Leann Bell, after the latest court hearing.  "It's a waste of taxpayers' money for exactly the same result.  It's going to continue to be a drain on the taxpayer's money and on the victims' time and emotion, coming in and out of this courtroom."

Judge Richard Nichols ruled Nordstrom's death sentences should run consecutively and also added four life terms, each to run consecutively as well.

Nordstrom's attorneys are appealing and asking the courts to overturn his convictions, something prosecutors say is unlikely, since the supreme court upheld the original jury's findings.

Both Bell children are now advocates for homicide survivors, providing support to others who have lost loved ones to violence.

"I'm starting to believe that it's an eye for an eye," said Rick.  "If you kill, you deserve to be killed, and you should face the death penalty, and I think Arizona should make that happen a little bit faster.  Let's put a fast lane in."

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=11213654

[turboprinz]

AZ high court upholds Nordstrom death sentences
Posted: Jul 26, 2012 4:00 PM Updated: Jul 26, 2012 8:49 PM
Posted by Steven Leslie - email
 
PHOENIX (AP) -

The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a man's second death sentences for two 1996 murders in Tucson.

The unanimous ruling Thursday upholds Scott Douglas Nordstrom's death sentences for the killings of Thomas Hardman and Carol Lynn Noel.

The 28-year-old Hardman and 50-year-old Noel died two weeks apart in the summer 1996 robberies of a smoke shop and a union hall.

Nordstrom was sentenced to death originally for those murders and four others, but his original death sentences were overturned on appeal.

Prosecutors then sought the death penalty in two of the cases. He was sentenced to no-release life sentences for the four other fatal shootings.

http://www.kpho.com/story/19119451/az-high-court-upholds-nordstrom-death-sentences