Overview

• A one-page order issued Monday accepts Addison’s petition for full-court consideration on written briefs with no oral argument.
• Addison, New Hampshire’s only death row inmate, was sentenced to die for the 2006 killing of Manchester police Officer Michael Briggs.
• Defense lawyers argue execution would be disproportionate since the death penalty was repealed prospectively in 2019 and say he would be uniquely eligible for execution.
• They point to Connecticut’s post-repeal resentencings as persuasive precedent, noting New Hampshire has not carried out an execution since 1939.
• Gov. Kelly Ayotte opposes any commutation, and separate litigation challenging the sentence’s constitutionality remains active in trial court.