BRENTWOOD, N.H. — The case against John "Jay" Brooks is expected to reshape New Hampshire's perception of crime and punishment.
His trial, which begins tomorrow, is the state's first death penalty prosecution in decades. It already has reignited a tug-of-war at the Statehouse over whether New Hampshire should ban executions or expand capital punishment.
Local experts who work on death penalty cases say New Hampshire residents are in for a grueling education if one of the state's two capital murder suspects is sentenced to death. "People who pay attention to these cases will begin to understand the gut-wrenching procedure of sentencing," defense lawyer Andru Volinsky said.
Volinsky, a Manchester lawyer, has been defending a death penalty case in Georgia since 1990 on a pro bono basis. He said it's more than just victims who feel the emotional toll.
"Everyone is affected, whether it's the prosecutors, defense lawyers or jurors," he said. "That's what gets me about these cases. We draw these jurors randomly. They have no idea what they're getting into. They go from Joe Average citizen to the person who has to decide the life and death of a person. That's a scarring decision to make. The person who makes that decision is forever changed. I just don't think it's ever considered enough."
Brooks, 56, once a politically influential entrepreneur from Derry, is charged with arranging the murder of his former mover, Jack Reid, 57, in June 2005.
His trial is expected to last more than a month. If he is found guilty of capital murder, the jury would sit through a second trial to decide if he is eligible for the death sentence.
Michael Addison, 27, of Dorchester, Mass., is headed to trial in October for the shooting death of Manchester police Officer Michael Briggs.
Abolitionists plan to call for a legislative study committee in 2009 to explore whether New Hampshire should ban executions.
Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said she wants any commission to also consider expanding capital punishment to include those who commit multiple or serial murderers.
"Our death penalty statute does not cover serial murder or multiple murders, and that's something I would favor coverage of," Ayotte said.
She singled out Michael Woodbury, who admitted killing three people at an outdoors equipment store in Conway last year, as someone worthy of the death penalty.
In the wake of the two cases, some lawmakers are torn over keeping the little-used capital murder law.
Rep. Bob Fesh, R-Derry, a member of the House Criminal Justice Public Safety Committee, said he has voted against it in the past, but not because he is completely against capital punishment.
"It has its pros and cons," Fesh said. "It's not easy to say yes or no. There's certain cases where I think they deserve it, but you want the case to be beyond a reasonable doubt if you execute someone. If you catch someone red-handed, shooting two people with the gun still in his hand, then I don't think there should even be a trial. But with circumstantial evidence, I really don't know."
The state has allocated $902,000 to prosecute Brooks and Addison.
New Hampshire has no death chamber, and prison officials say they are still years away from building one because of the years of appeals that come with capital cases.
