Attorneys vow to push for new trial in Connecticut murder-for-hire plot
By Richard Weizel
MILFORD, Conn. (Reuters) - Attorneys for a Connecticut woman convicted in 2002 of killing her brother-in-law in a murder-for-hire plot vowed on Wednesday to carry her fight for a new trial to federal court after a state court judge blocked her bid for a re-hearing.
Former attorney Beth Carpenter, now 51, is serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for plotting with her lover and boss, Haiman Clein, to kill her brother-in-law, exotic dancer Anson Clinton, who Carpenter suspected of abusing his 3-year-old stepdaughter.
The 1994 murder inspired several television dramas and books.
Rockville Superior Court Judge Samuel Sferrazza on Tuesday ruled that Carpenter's current legal team did not prove their claims that her trial lawyers, Hugh Keefe and Tara Knight, were ineffective at trial by failing to seek a change of venue or seeking a plea deal with prosecutors.
The judge determined there was no evidence that a change of venue would have changed the outcome, or that prosecutors would have offered a plea bargain.
But Carpenter's current attorneys, Susan Nugent and Norman Pattis, vowed on Wednesday to seek a new trial in federal courts.
"We are extraordinarily disappointed," Nugent said in a phone interview. "We raised very significant issues about the need for a change of venue. The trial was held in New London, but should have been moved to Bridgeport. This case gained sensational publicity, and the (previous) attorneys did not pursue the issue nearly enough."
Nugent noted that the hit man who killed Clinton is serving a 45-year sentence and Carpenter's co-conspirator Clein is serving 35 years. Either could be released from prison after serving half their time.
"Meanwhile, our client is serving a life sentence without any chance of parole," Nugent said. She said the legal team will file an appeal in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.
Clein testified against Carpenter, saying that it was her idea to kill Clinton. Clein testified he was in love with Carpenter and believed her niece was being abused. He said he hired and paid hit man Mark Despres to kill Clinton.
Despres shot Clinton to death in East Lyme in 1994. He said he was paid $5,500.
Carpenter has insisted she was not involved in the murder plot.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool)
