Pizarro

Introduction; Procedural Summary; Facts; the following parts of the Discussion: I., II.A., II.E.1.a., II.E.1.e., II.E.1.f., II.E.2.a., II.E.2.f., heading of II.E.5., and II.E.5.f.; and the Disposition of this opinion are certified for publication.

INTRODUCTION

Tragically, in 1989, 13-year-old Amber Dawn Barfield was sexually assaulted and murdered. In 1990, defendant Michael Antonio Pizarro, Amber‟s older half-brother, was convicted of her first degree murder with special circumstances. In the first appeal in 1992, this court reversed and remanded for a Kelly1 hearing regarding the DNA2 evidence. On remand, the trial court ruled that the DNA testing was generally accepted within the scientific community and reinstated the conviction. In the second appeal in 2003, this court found that the scientific evidence failed to satisfy the third prong of Kelly and reversed the judgment. In 2008, a second jury convicted defendant of first degree murder with a special circumstance finding. This is the third appeal in this case. Defendant again raises challenges to the DNA evidence, contends the trial judge erred in denying his motion for a new trial based on jury misconduct, and argues…