Azania v. State

The defendant-appellant, Zolo Agona Azania, formerly known as Rufus Lee Av-erhart, and two co-defendants were convicted of murder1 and felony murder2 for killing Gary police officer George Yaros during a robbery of the Gary National Bank on August 11, 1981. The jury recommended a death sentence. Treating the two convictions as a single offense, the trial court sentenced the defendant to death. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the defendant’s sentence. Averhart v. State, 470 N.E.2d 666 (Ind.1984). In 1993, on appeal from the denial of post-conviction relief, we reversed based on the…