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Lawyers for Michael Addison, the man accused of killing a Manchester police officer last fall, say execution by lethal injection or hanging is "cruel and unusual punishment," and they will challenge the state's death penalty statute on a number of fronts.

Addison's public defenders have asked the court for additional time to pursue nearly two dozen arguments against the state's death penalty and capital murder procedures, and the death penalty in general, according to several motions filed yesterday in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester. They've also asked that all pretrial hearings be held in public, on the record and in a courtroom outside of Manchester, where Addison would be shielded from photographers when he is shackled and dressed in a prison jumpsuit.

"The stakes could not be higher," Addison's attorneys wrote. "There is no other criminal case receiving greater media coverage. There is no other criminal case receiving more attention from the Manchester community.

"Under these circumstances, the repeated publication of images of Michael Addison in prison clothes, bound hand and foot, will serve as a 'constant reminder' and a 'continuing influence' which will undermine the presumption of innocence before the trial has even started."

Addison, 27, has been held without bail since his arrest Oct. 16. He is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Michael Briggs, 35, a Concord father of two and a bicycle patrolman with the Manchester police department. Prosecutors say Addison shot Briggs in the head after Briggs pursued him; the state is seeking the death penalty.

Addison has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in September 2008.

Addison's public defenders, Richard Guerriero, Donna Brown and David Rothstein, filed three motions yesterday, including one that asks for additional time to challenge Addison's capital murder indictment and the death penalty.

In an order issued earlier this month, Judge Kathleen McGuire instructed defense counsel to file indictment challenges by May 7 and motions concerning the death penalty by July 9. The defense team has asked that the deadlines be extended to October 26 and August 30, respectively, saying the team needs more time to provide Addison with the best defense.

Addison's lawyers intend to argue that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, citing a Florida case in which it took 34 minutes for a man to die by lethal injection.

"States do no employ doctors to administer the drugs that execute people, do not have clearly defined protocols or procedures and do not cause deaths that are 'quick' and 'painless,' " according to the motion.

Addison's lawyers plan to resurrect legal issues left unresolved from the last capital murder case prosecuted in New Hampshire.

In 1997, Gordon Perry, 22, was charged with fatally shooting Epsom Officer Jeremy Charron. Perry pleaded guilty to murder as part of a deal that spared him the death penalty. But by the time he took the plea deal, his lawyers had filed 19 motions challenging the constitutionality of the state's death penalty statute. The judge ruled on fewer than half of the motions before Perry began serving his life sentence.

Addison's lawyers also argue that the state's death penalty statute is unconstitutional because it denies Addison the right to choose whether a judge or jury will hear his case and determine his punishment. A defendant may prefer his case be heard in front of a judge if he thinks a jury would give in to emotion when making a decision. On the other hand, a defendant may prefer that a jury sentence him if he thinks jurors may have more sympathy and spare him death. (next page »)