A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Attorneys for Convicted Killer Derrick Powell Try To Halt Execution

Lawyers for convicted killer Derrick Powell are fighting the death penalty imposed for the murder of Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer in 2009.

They suggested to the Delaware State Supreme Court that their client may not be the true killer.

The attorneys said that Powell may have just had the weapon on his lap and that the gun discharged during the collision that ended the police chase.

In addition, they argued that ordering the execution of Powell was cruel punishment because the prosecutors did not seek such the death penalty against the other two men involved in the crime.  

The attorneys argued that the trial judge should have allowed for a lesser conviction of second degree murder.

Meanwhile, State Deputy Attorney General Paul Wallace asked the high court to uphold the death sentence calling Powell a cop-killer waiting to happen.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.