15 July 2018 :

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the death sentence given to Michael Ray White (66, White) because of failings of his defense attorneys. A 3-judge panel of said that White's lawyer failed to challenge the state's claim that he shot David Johnson, his lover's husband, on Dec. 12, 1987 in an alleged scheme to collect on the victim's insurance policy. And the court said the attorney "utterly failed" to investigate problems in White's life that could have argued against imposition of the death penalty. The court said there was "compelling evidence" that White committed the crime "out of love" for his girlfriend, Susan Minter, "rather than financial gain." They were tried separately and both were convicted of murder and conspiracy. But while she received 2 sentences of 25 years to life, White was sentenced to death in Yavapai County on December 9, 1996.