COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Colorado Supreme Court has granted a new trial to a former Fort Carson soldier serving life in prison for a 2003 stabbing death in Colorado Springs.
The high court ruled last week that an El Paso County district judge undermined Jesse Joe Kaufman’s claim of self-defense by giving improper instructions to a jury.
Kaufman was convicted in 2004 of first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. He is accused of killing 25-year-old Jason Kettle and wounding 27-year-old Christopher Walko on May 5, 2003.
Prosecutors said the three got into an altercation after a night of drinking and Kaufman stabbed both men. Kaufman was 25 and on active duty at the time.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Diana May, a prosecutor in the case, said Wednesday it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to comment on the high court’s ruling.
———
Information from: The Gazette,
