New Hampshire’s Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the appeal of Michael Addison, the state’s only inmate on death row, giving him a rare opportunity to argue that his sentence should be reduced to life in prison.
The single-page order allows Addison, 45, to press a challenge tied in part to the 2019 legislative repeal of the state’s death penalty. Addison was convicted of capital murder in the 2008 slaying of Manchester police Officer Michael Briggs and was sentenced to die. The court previously had repeatedly denied requests to reconsider his sentence and upheld that execution was an appropriate punishment.
Briggs was killed on Oct. 16, 2006, while responding to a domestic disturbance call. Prosecutors say Briggs told Addison to stop walking away after arriving at the scene; Briggs was then shot and later died. Addison fled to his grandmother’s home in Massachusetts and was arrested the same day. He was convicted at trial in 2008.
The 2019 repeal of New Hampshire’s death penalty was controversial. Lawmakers who supported the change argued it would end a penalty the state had not carried out in decades, while opponents, including members of Briggs’ family, warned that repeal could have legal repercussions for Addison. At the time, repeal proponents and lawmakers said the change would not apply retroactively to cases in which defendants had already been sentenced to death, but legal experts have said courts ultimately must resolve whether the repeal affects existing sentences.
Addison’s attorneys have argued the repeal and related legal developments support converting his sentence to life. The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case is notable because the court has previously rejected efforts to revisit Addison’s sentence, and New Hampshire has not executed anyone since 1939.
Former Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican and the state’s one-time attorney general who supported Addison’s death sentence, has described him as a “cold-blooded, cold-hearted, remorseless killer.” Ayotte previously highlighted her role in the prosecution during her successful gubernatorial campaign, including advertising that she had helped “put a cop killer on death row.”
Nationally, the use of capital punishment has shifted in recent years. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 23 states have abolished or overturned the death penalty. Among the 27 states that still allow capital punishment, governors in four states have imposed moratoriums on executions.
Court proceedings and filings in the Addison matter will determine whether the repeal or other legal theories can be applied to his sentence. A timetable for oral arguments or a decision by the Supreme Court was not provided in the order released Monday.