The 2009 manslaughter and attempted triple murder shooter is convicted and free

Williams’ Civil Rights Division argued that Burton’s sentence of 40 years without parole, parole or suspension is illegal. He also asked the court to open sentencing on the three counts of attempted murder.

Rodrigue disagreed with the division’s legal argument and said that, at the very least, the attempted-murder sentences should stand.

“Even if you believe their argument that the technical issue in count 1 had to be corrected, it does not justify why they struck out the plea in counts 2, 3 and 4,” she said.

In addition, records show the division argued that Handy’s mother and sister approved of a reduced sentence. Two of the three surviving victims did not object to the reduced sentence, while the third could not be reached.

Fox 8 reached out to Handy’s mother, but she declined an interview.

“The impact on the victim is certainly important and is something the prosecution always takes into account. But we expect, the prosecutor has taken an oath to uphold the law,” said Rodrigue.

She also described Williams’ previous role as defense attorney for Burton’s co-defendant Jamal Sullivan as a conflict.

A spokesman for Williams said he was not available to discuss post-sentence relief Thursday (8/15).

The office released a statement that said:

“It is well known that New Orleans was an exceptional case in creating wrongful and defective verdicts. We led the world in wrongful convictions and acquittals, meaning that we have historically convicted the wrong person at a high rate, letting the guilty criminal go free.

The district attorney said, if elected by the people of New Orleans he represents, he would allow New Orleans courts to review and address past injustices on the merits after conviction if legitimate questions were raised on the fairness of the conviction or sentence. The position of the post-conviction prosecutor is the position of the law. We firmly believe in and respect the rule of law.

In every case involving victims, we have achieved extraordinary levels of outreach and victim involvement.

Certain factions have sought, and will continue to seek, to use disinformation as a means to denigrate the real work we do to get results for victims and families and help build healthier communities in this city, relying on at the same time on fairness and the rule of law.”

Murrill’s office has indicated it will study the use of post-conviction relief in Orleans Parish, but a spokesperson did not respond to Fox 8 about the case.

See a spelling or grammar mistake in our story? Click here to report it. Please include the title.

Subscribe to Fox 8 YouTube channel.

Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.