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D.A. Won't Seek Death in Katrina Case

Posted on: Thursday, 1 February 2007, 12:00 CST

By MARY FOSTER

NEW ORLEANS - Four police officers charged with murder in shootings amid the chaos after Hurricane Katrina will not face the death penalty if convicted, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Assistant District Attorney Dustin Davis said that the officers will still be tried on first-degree murder and attempted murder charges, but that prosecutors would seek life in prison without parole rather than execution if the four were convicted. He declined to explain the decision.

Sgts. Kenneth Bowen and Robert Gisevius Jr., Officer Anthony Villavaso II, and former officer Robert Faulcon Jr. are charged in the Sept. 4, 2005, shootings on the Danziger Bridge in the upheaval that followed Katrina. Killed were Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally retarded man, and James Brissette, 19; four other people were wounded.

Madison's sister Lorna Humphries said family members "completely support the district attorney's office in their decision."

Lawyer Franz Zibilich, who represents Faulcon, also backed the decision. "It would have defied all precedent had they sought the death penalty for a police officer who was in his line of duty," he said.

A New Orleans jury last handed down a death penalty in 1997.

Two other officers - Robert Barrios and Mike Hunter Jr. - were charged with attempted first-degree murder, and Officer Ignatius Hills was charged with attempted second-degree murder.

The six current officers returned to low-profile jobs on Monday. They may not wear uniforms, make arrests or carry weapons, and they're closely monitored, police said. They also continue to wear ankle bracelets that track their whereabouts.

Madison's brother, Romell Madison, on Wednesday called for Mayor Ray Nagin to overturn the police superintendent's decision to let the officers return to work, calling it "a slap in the face of justice."

Another Madison brother, Lance Madison, was also on the bridge. He was cleared of attempted murder charges after spending over a month in jail.

"My brother Lance has still not been able to return to work," said Humphries, who owns an engineering consulting firm. "It's been hard on him. First he watched his brother gunned down then he was arrested. He's been out of work 17 months now, but the police are back. Is that fair?"

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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