ATLANTA (AP) — The jury that convicted an Iraq war veteran of murder in the stabbing death of a fellow infantryman, whose charred body was later found in the woods, should have learned that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in combat, his lawyer told the Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Attorney David West said that Alberto Martinez had no memory of stabbing fellow solider Richard Davis 33 times after a night of drunken partying along with three other soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division, just days after they returned to Fort Benning in western Georgia after a six-month tour in Iraq.

Martinez, 27, is serving life in prison after being convicted in 2006 in the murder, the details of which inspired the movie "In the Valley of Elah."

West told the Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday that Martinez's trial counsel erred in not putting forward his PTSD symptoms as part of his defense. He is seeking a new trial.

Stacey Jackson, assistant district attorney with the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, said There are 100 different ways to try a case," Jackson said.

Martinez and Davis fought side by side in Iraq. When they returned home, they tried to put the brutal war zone behind them with some heavy partying one night in July 2003 with three other soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division. Before the night was over, Davis, 24, was a charred corpse. He had been stabbed repeatedly, with wounds so deep they nicked bone.

Davis' was body recovered from a wooded area near Columbus, outside of the base on the border with Alabama.

According to testimony presented by prosecutors at Martinez's trial:

Martinez and Davis were joined by Jacob Burgoyne, Mario Navarrete and Douglas Woodcoff. A visibly drunk Davis was kicked out of the club for insulting a stripper and the men scuffled in the parking lot. They piled into the car with Martinez behind the wheel and drove to a wooded area. Martinez ordered Davis out of the car. When Davis staggered toward him, Martinez stabbed him with a knife, according to court records. Burgoyne and Navarrete tried to get Martinez to stop but eventually gave up.

The men drove to a nearby convenience store, bought lighter fluid, returned and set Davis' body on fire. Several days later they returned to bury the body.

Martinez offered another perfectly valid defense at trial: that one of the other three soldiers did it.

As part of Martinez's motion for a new trial, his trial lawyers testified they rejected the PTSD defense because the attack was prolonged.

But prosecutors say there was a history of bad blood between Davis and Martinez stretching back to Iraq. Jackson said the attack stopped and started again, with the men driving around for 15 minutes looking for a place to kill Davis.

"This is not the action of a delusional compulsion," Jackson told the justices. "This is the action of someone making a planned motivated attack."

Martinez's Army discharge papers noted that he showed signs of PTSD and anxiety and referred him for care, West said Tuesday. But West said Martinez never received any care.

An Atlanta psychologist and PTSD specialist interviewed Martinez and found that PTSD explained the violent attack, which seemed to lack any real motive, West said. The psychologist said certain triggers — such as the fighting between the soldiers — can trigger PTSD. The person then feels he must defend himself against a threat, even if there is none.

Navarrete also was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Burgoyne was sentenced to 20 years after he pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his testimony and Woodcoff was sentenced to five years of probation for concealing a death.