Surgeon convicted in killings wants new trial

[unhappycamper]

Surgeon convicted in killings wants new trial
By Larry O’Dell - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 19, 2009 22:12:57 EST

RICHMOND, Va. — Lawyers for a former Green Beret convicted of the 1970 slayings of his pregnant wife and two daughters in North Carolina are asking a federal appeals court to order a new trial.

Jeffrey MacDonald is entitled to a new trial “based upon startling new evidence that he is actually innocent of the murders, and that his trial was infected with constitutional error,” his lawyers said in papers filed late Thursday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Raleigh, N.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours.

MacDonald, a former Fort Bragg Army surgeon, is serving three life sentences at the federal penitentiary in Cumberland, Md., for the murders of his wife, Colette, and daughters Kimberley and Kristen. The story produced the best-selling book and television miniseries “Fatal Vision.”

In 2006, the Richmond-based federal appeals court ruled that MacDonald could seek a new trial in U.S. District Court based on retired U.S. Marshal Jim Britt’s claim that he heard a federal prosecutor coerce a star witness to lie in MacDonald’s trial.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_macdonald_slayings_021909/%2e

[murielm99]

1. I've wondered about this case for a very long time.

I read "Fatal Vision" and saw the miniseries.

MacDonald has supporters who believe he was railroaded. They believe they have identified the people he says murdered his family. The woman is deceased. MacDonald and his supporters say that the book "Fatal Vision" is not factual. The author outright lied about many of the things MacDonald told him.

Do you have an opinion about this case?

[unhappycamper]

2. Not really.

I remember the miniseries and thought at the time "Man, this guy is really bad news."

Apparently someone or some group had him singled out for a fall. The fix, as we say, may have been in.