Washington Supreme Court overturns Pierce County woman’s murder conviction

The Washington State Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a Pierce County woman convicted of being an accomplice to murder in the 2011 death of a Lakewood man.

In a 6-3 decision, the state’s high court ruled Thursday that Kisha Fisher did not get a fair trial because a Superior Court judge did not allow her to present a so-called “affirmative defense” argument to jurors.

The ruling wipes out Fisher’s first-degree murder conviction in the death of Lenard Masten and her 29-year sentence.

Masten, 39, was shot to death outside his Lakewood apartment on Jan. 16, 2011.

Prosecutors alleged Fisher’s brother, 46-year-old Corey Trosclair, and another man were angry with Masten because they thought he’d sold them substandard street drugs. They intended to rob him to get even, court records show, and Fisher was accused of setting up a meeting between the men.

Fisher, 42, argued during her appeal that Judge Vicki Hogan erred by not giving the jury an affirmative defense instruction before closing arguments.

Defendants are entitled to such an instruction if they did not commit the homicidal act, were not armed with a deadly weapon at the time of the crime, had no reason to believe any other participants were armed and had no reason to believe anyone would get killed.

The high court sided with Fisher.

The Supreme Court upheld Trosclair’s conviction and 46-year sentence as part of the same opinion.

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Washington Supreme Court overturns Pierce County woman’s murder conviction."