NH Upholds Death Penalty for Michael Addison, First Person to be Executed Since 1939
The top court in New Hampshire upheld the death sentence of Michael Addison, 33, who is the state's only death row inmate. If the death penalty is carried out, Addison will be the first inmate to die by lethal injection since 1939.
Addison was convicted of killing Officer Michael Briggs in 2006 during an attempted arrest; he was wanted for a series of armed robberies. Unfortunately, Briggs was left dead and his family devastated. Addison was sentenced to the death penalty but his lawyers argued that he did not mean to kill Briggs but that it was unintentional; the court has yet to rule whether the death penalty sentence is too harsh for the crime.
"Our capital sentencing scheme reflects the legislatures judgment that the most egregious murderers who warrant the most severe sentence under our law are not restricted to those who harbor a specific intent to kill," the court wrote in its ruling. "We conclude that the sentence of death was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor. We find no reversible error."
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Addison still has other avenues of appeal to explore and the NHCLU said that there are "years of litigation" ahead.
"Today's decision is only the beginning. Years of litigation likely lie ahead before Michael Addison's case is resolved. The State has already spent millions of dollars pursuing the death penalty in this case, though the defendant was willing to plead guilty for a prison sentence of life without parole. The death penalty is not a deterrent, is imposed in a discriminatory, arbitrary and irrational manner, and remains capable of convicting innocent people," the NHCLU said in a formal statement.
Yet many are content with the court's decision and believe it brings justice and closure to the case.
"Michael Addison has had seven years of due process," Manchester Police Chief David Mara told the Associated Press.
"Michael Briggs got no due process. He was executed."
