Harold Fish Released from Prison in Self-Defense Case

A 62-year-old man who spent nearly three years in prison after being convicted in a fatal shooting and is being released from custody Tuesday, his attorney said.

Coconino County Superior Court Judge Mark Moran signed an order Tuesday morning that allows Harold Fish to be released from the Lewis prison in Buckeye, pending a new trial in the case.

Fish's attorney, Lee Phillips, said his client plans to return home to Mesa with his wife and children.

"I think his plan when he gets home is just to spend as much time with Debbie and the children as he possibly can now that he realizes how precious that time can be," Phillips said. "There's always a chance he's going back to prison."

Fish claimed he acted in self defense when he shot Grant Kuenzli in May 2004 while hiking in the Coconino National Forest near Payson. Prosecutors said Fish overreacted and that self-defense was not justified.

A jury convicted Fish of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

A state appeals court overturned the conviction last month and ordered a new trial, saying the judge's jury instructions inadequately described the law of self-defense.

Prosecutors cited the court decision and a new law that shifts the burden of proof in self-defense claim cases from the defendant to the prosecutor as reasons not to retry Fish.

But Fish's release from prison doesn't guarantee that he will remain a free man.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Terry Goddard, Anne Hilby, said the office plans to file a petition with the state Supreme Court to review the lower court's decision. The deadline is Aug. 5.

"It's what we felt was in the best interest of the case," said Hilby, who declined to elaborate on what issues the petition might address.

The constitutionality of the new self-defense law also could be challenged. It doesn't go into effect until September but applies retroactively to Fish's case. Gun-rights supporters, who said Fish's conviction represented a threat to their right to protect themselves, prompted the change in the law.

A challenge to the new law or appeal could take months or to play out.

"It's up in the air," Phillips said. "I'm hopeful that the state will be persuaded once Mr. Fish is back home with his family that enough is enough and they will just let this go."