PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death penalty against a man convinced of the 1995 murder of University of Arizona music professor Roy Johnson.
In a unanimous decision, the justices said that Beau Greene was sentenced to death based on a law at the time that said those who commit murder for pecuniary purposes are eligible for the ultimate punishment. And they acknowledged that provision of the law was subsequently repealed by the Arizona Legislature.
But they concluded there was no evidence that state lawmakers intended to make that change retroactive.
