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Michael Addison Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Review Capital Murder Conviction

Jim Cole | AP

New Hampshire’s only death row inmate Michael Addison is asking the United States Supreme Court to review the state court’s decision to uphold his conviction of capital murder.  

In a petition filed by his attorney, Addison argues that in allowing and refusing certain pieces of evidence during trial, the New Hampshire Supreme Court violated the eighth amendment of the US Constitution, which protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.

Although the likelihood of a review by the nation’s highest court is slim, New Hampshire Public Defender David Rothstein says he will pursue all avenues, particularly when a defendant faces the death penalty.  

“This is a step that is available to us,” Rothstein says, “and we’re hopeful that the Supreme Court will see fit to review Michael Addison’s case.” 

In a recent dissent, Justices Breyer and Ginsberg expressed an interest in reconsidering the constitutionality of the death penalty, generally. In Addison’s petition, Rothstein argues this New Hampshire case could be an opportunity for the highest court to do just that. 

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