The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a man's murder conviction that a lower court overturned based on violations of the defendant's right to a speedy trial. The Albuquerque Journal says Jeremiah Gurule waited nearly six years in jail before a jury convicted him in 2016 of murder and evidence tampering in the stabbing death of his girlfriend. The state’s high court ruled 3-2 Thursday. The decision noted that Gurule's situation developed due to lengthy considerations of his mental competence to stand trial. The 36-year-old defendant was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old University of New Mexico student Elizabeth Brito.
