"Ms. Smart's trial unfolded in an environment that no court had previously confronted - wall-to-wall media coverage that blurred the line between allegation and evidence,"
"This petition challenges whether a fair adversarial process took place."
"other than to note that the State maintains Ms. Smart received a fair trial and that her convictions were lawfully obtained and upheld on appeal."
Pamela Smart is serving life in prison for orchestrating the 1990 murder of her husband by a teenage student. A habeas corpus petition was filed in New York and New Hampshire asserting several constitutional violations. Lawyers contend prosecutors misled the jury by providing transcripts that included words not audible on the recordings, citing specific inserted words. The legal team also argues pervasive media coverage blurred the line between allegation and evidence and undermined a fair adversarial process. The petition follows a denied request for a sentence reduction hearing by New Hampshire's governor. State officials have declined further comment on the pending litigation.
Read at Boston.com
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