Lawyers for convicted Pittsburgh cop killer ask judge for time to explore if trial was fair
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Lawyers defending the man who killed three Pittsburgh police officers in 2009 are asking a judge for more time to explore whether Richard Poplawski got a fair trial.
At issue is whether the jury, chosen from the Harrisburg area due to the extensive news coverage in Pittsburgh, was improperly influenced. Poplawski was given the death penalty.
Officers Paul Sciullo and Stephen Mayhle were both ambushed when responding to a call at a home on Fairfield Street on April 4, 2009. Another officer, Eric Kelly, was shot while responding to the scene and attempting to help his fellow officers.
Poplawski's defense team asked Judge Kevin Sasinoski to give them more time to determine if the Dauphin County jury, while on a field trip during a day off from the trial, saw a sign on the South Side saying people would get free French fries at a restaurant if Poplawski were given the death penalty.
Poplawski's defense asked the judge for 500 more hours to work on the investigation and up to four years to present their findings to the court.
Poplawski appeared via video from SCI Somerset and said nothing during the hearing. In the end, the judge allowed Poplawski's team 60 days to present their findings.
"It won't be an easy task but if they have the ability to find one person that's willing to talk and willing to speak about what may or may not have happened, it could cause the door to open a little wider," said defense attorney Ryan Tutera, who is not connected to the case.
Tutera says Poplawski's team is simply doing their job.
"If it is a legitimate issue, then you could see why they would want to bring this up. If it's a fishing expedition on the other end, that would be considered a considerable number of resources," Tutera said.
"Fishing expedition" is exactly what prosecutors called the effort.
"The question is not if he's guilty of these acts. The question is if the punishment ascribed by the jurors was done without bias, right? Or some sort of ill motive. He's entitled to that," Tutera said.
They're going to have to employ a private investigator to find these people and these people don't have to talk to the investigators.