In 2006, Mr. F., 35, was charged with his mother's homicide. He was formally charged with first-degree murder, arson and aggravated assault when his mother was stabbed and her home was set on fire. Ultimately, Mr. F. was convicted of second degree murder and aggravated assault, and the Arizona court sentenced him to 25 years in prison for both convictions. Recently, however, the Arizona appellate court reduced Mr. F.'s aggravated assault sentence.

The judge reportedly did not think that there was sufficient evidence that Mr. F. had a criminal history that would satisfy an aggravated assault charge, though Mr. F. did wind up admitting that he had a drug charge in his past from another state. The aggravated assault charge was not dropped, but the sentence Mr. F. must serve for the conviction has been reduced.

Perhaps leading to that action was Mr. F. and his attorney's argument that the previous court made a mistake by not ruling Mr. F. as incompetent to stand trial. According to sources, Mr. F. was evaluated by various psychiatric professionals throughout the course of the trial, and their conclusions regarding his competency were inconsistent. Despite the inconsistency, the previous judge ruled Mr. F. as competent to stand trial, even though his defense attorney was opposed to that decision.

The above points succeeded in persuading the Arizona Court of Appeals to reduce Mr. F.'s aggravated assault sentence to three years and nine months in prison. That time will be added to the 21-year-sentence that he is currently serving for the second degree murder conviction that followed his mother's 2006 homicide.

Source
Mohave Daily News: Fisher resentenced on assault conviction (9/26/2010)