A Denver judge repeatedly provided an incorrect instruction to the jury in an attempted murder trial, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to reverse the defendant’s convictions on Thursday.
Prosecutors charged Efren Anthony Martinez with two counts of first-degree murder, assault, and related offenses after he struck and seriously injured two people with a hatchet after a June 2020 protest near Civic Center Park. Jurors convicted Martinez and he received an 88-year prison sentence.
On appeal, Martinez argued a new trial was warranted for the attempted murder counts due to an obviously incorrect jury instruction…