Post by CCADP on Aug 27, 2005 20:35:18 GMT -5
Vermont man sentenced to die asks judge to overturn sentence
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Lawyers for the man sentenced to die in Vermont's first capital punishment trial in almost 50 years are asking a judge to overturn his death sentence.
Donald Fell's attorneys argue that prosecutors behaved improperly during the trial, and they want the judge to commute his sentence to life in prison or order a new sentencing hearing.
"The government misrepresented facts to the court, took inconsistent positions about its evidence, and misstated the defendant's constitutional rights to the jury," reads the document filed by lawyer Alexander Bunin.
William Darrow, one of two assistant U.S. attorneys who prosecuted Fell, declined to comment.
Fell, 25, was convicted in June of kidnapping Terry King, 53, as she arrived for work at a Rutland supermarket in 2000, taking her into New York state and bludgeoning her to death as she prayed for her life. The same jury sentenced Fell to die for his crimes last month.
Fell agreed in 2001 to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without parole, but that deal was rejected by then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who insisted on the death penalty.
Vermont has no death penalty, but because the killers crossed state lines, U.S. prosecutors brought charges under a federal law that allows the death penalty for a carjacking that results in a death. The trial prompted protests and vigils by death-penalty opponents.
©2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Lawyers for the man sentenced to die in Vermont's first capital punishment trial in almost 50 years are asking a judge to overturn his death sentence.
Donald Fell's attorneys argue that prosecutors behaved improperly during the trial, and they want the judge to commute his sentence to life in prison or order a new sentencing hearing.
"The government misrepresented facts to the court, took inconsistent positions about its evidence, and misstated the defendant's constitutional rights to the jury," reads the document filed by lawyer Alexander Bunin.
William Darrow, one of two assistant U.S. attorneys who prosecuted Fell, declined to comment.
Fell, 25, was convicted in June of kidnapping Terry King, 53, as she arrived for work at a Rutland supermarket in 2000, taking her into New York state and bludgeoning her to death as she prayed for her life. The same jury sentenced Fell to die for his crimes last month.
Fell agreed in 2001 to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without parole, but that deal was rejected by then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who insisted on the death penalty.
Vermont has no death penalty, but because the killers crossed state lines, U.S. prosecutors brought charges under a federal law that allows the death penalty for a carjacking that results in a death. The trial prompted protests and vigils by death-penalty opponents.
©2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved