Louisiana Lawyers want new trial in quintuple shooting Videotaped interview of witness contradicts her testimony during trial

By Mary Foster Associated Press Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) § It was the first death sentence handed down in New Orleans in 12 years, but now it may not stand up. Lawyers are arguing for a new trial for Michael Anderson, convicted of gunning down five teens as they sat in an SUV on a street corner. Anderson, who was sentenced to die by lethal injection in August, will find out on Monday if he will get a new trial. Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Lynda Van Davis said Tuesday that she would rule on the defense request then. Defense attorney Richard Bourke, of the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, said numerous errors by prosecutors, including a videotape of a defense witness being questioned which was only recently turned over to the defense, made a new trial necessary. "If this was a shoplifting, there probably would be a new trial," Bourke told the judge during his arguments. "The fact that this is a death case should mean this shouldn't go slower but faster. They will kill this guy based on that trial. We should hand them back this trial. This young man's life is on the line." Anderson, dressed in an Orleans Parish Prison orange jump suit and shackled, sat quietly at the defense table. He was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder for the shootings of five teenagers in a parked car in 2006. The killings, prosecutors said, followed a confrontation earlier in the evening between Anderson and the group of teenagers. Bourke laid out 18 issues that he believes entitle Anderson, 23, to a new trial. Among the biggest is a two-hour videotaped interview from June 2007 of the state's star witness contradicting her testimony during the trial. Torie Williams, who testified that she saw the shootings, is heard on the tape saying she was at the crime scene after 6 a.m., which was after the shootings took place. Another major contention is the testimony during the trial of Ronnie Morgan. Morgan, a bank robber and armed robber, had a deal from the district attorney that would allow his state prison term to run at the same time with his federal term, instead of back to back. In effect, it cut 15 years from his sentence. "We're not going to go out and kill someone on a trial as rotten as that," Bourke said. District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro issued a statement after Tuesday's hearing saying he stood by the prosecution. "This defendant is not legally entitled to a new trial, and we have established that in court," the statement said. "Furthermore, I stand by the conduct, the integrity, and the professionalism of the assistant district attorneys who prosecuted this murderer." Anderson has at least 10 arrests as an adult, ranging from drug possession to attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. Published: Thu, Mar 4, 2010

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