NH Supreme Court upholds death sentence for last man on death row in New England

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a man convicted of killing a police officer back in 2008.

Michael Addison was convicted of capital murder in the 2006 death of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs and was sentenced to death.

In 2019, New Hampshire abolished the death penalty.

Addison’s lawyers argued the state should not carry out his execution because the death penalty would no longer apply to anyone else and urged the Supreme Court to reconsider his case.

A state statute says the repeal does not apply to prior cases.

“The petitioner was convicted of capital murder before the effective date of the act, and the repeal therefore does not apply to him,” the New Hampshire Supreme Court wrote in its decision dismissing Addison’s appeal.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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