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Arizona self-defense figure Harold Fish, 65, dies By Peter Corbett The Republic | azcentral.com Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:16 PM Harold Fish, a retired teacher whose second-degree murder conviction led to a change in Arizona’s self-defense law, has died. Fish, 65, spent three years in prison before his conviction in a forest-trail shooting was overturned. He died of cancer Sept. 8. Fish said he acted in self-defense in May 2004 when approached by Grant Kuenzli and his dogs on a trailhead north of Payson. “It’s real tragic. This guy was just a victim of a real catastrophe in the criminal-justice system,” said Phoenix attorney Mel McDonald, who defended Fish. Fish’s case polarized Arizona on gun rights and the justified use of deadly force. It galvanized Arizona lawmakers and gun-rights advocates to change the state’s self-defense law. They succeeded in amending state law in 2006 to require prosecutors to prove that a shooter was not justified in using his weapon to protect himself. In Fish’s case, the defense had the burden of proof to show that he acted reasonably in shooting Kuenzli to protect himself. The shooting occurred two years before the law was changed. He was convicted in Coconino County in June 2006. In June 2009, the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the conviction because the trial judge excluded testimony about Kuenzli and presented inadequate jury instructions. County prosecutors chose not to retry Fish, and he was released from prison in July 2009. “It was a great run while it lasted,” Fish’s wife, Debora, said of their 27 years together. “We’ve had three good years of him being out of prison. “He felt he led a good life and never did anything major wrong — all of us make mistakes — but he didn’t have any regrets.” Others might disagree. Linda Leathers, Kuenzli’s sister, is adamant that Fish was unjustified in killing her brother. “I am sorry for his family’s sake,” she said of Fish. “The death of someone you love is very, very hard to accept. Life is never, ever the same again. “I pray that any guilt or shame connected to the death of my beloved brother will have died with Mr. Fish and will not be borne by his children.” Debora Fish said six of her seven children, ages 8 to 23, are still living at home in Glendale. She lost her nursing job in August when her husband got sick. The Fishes are getting by with his retirement funds and help from family and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she said. Fish taught Spanish in Tolleson for more than 20 years. Legal bills for his defense were close to $700,000. McDonald said that Fish’s conviction was painful for Fish and his family but that it woke up lawmakers. “His great legacy will be that they changed the Arizona self-defense law because of his conviction,” he said. Debora said her husband had been healthy until this summer. On July 3, Harold Fish hiked out of the Grand Canyon to complete the final section of the Arizona Trail that he had not yet traversed. Thirty years ago, Fish started hiking sections of the Arizona Trail, which runs from Mexico to Utah. He was completing a section of that trail above the Mogollon Rim on May 11, 2004, when he and Kuenzli crossed paths. |