The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A decade after being sentenced to death for the murders of two Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers, Alden Harden went back to court to continue his legal battle to save his life.
Harden, 43, does not deny that he killed police officers Andy Nobles and John Burnette in October 1993. But during a hearing Tuesday, his attorneys argued that he killed them in self-defense during a struggle.
The convicted murderer is now seeking a new trial or new sentencing hearing in hopes of getting off death row.
Harden claims in court documents that he didn’t get a fair trial. He has attacked his defense lawyers, a key prosecution witness, a juror and the media coverage surrounding the killings.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to deny Harden’s motion for a new trial or sentencing hearing, arguing that there is no evidence to support his claims.
It could be months before Superior Court Judge Timothy Patti decides whether Harden should get a new trial or another sentencing hearing.
At the hearing Tuesday, Harden’s new lawyers, Margaret Ciardella of Hampstead and Nora Hargrove of Wilmington, challenged the testimony of a 5-year-old boy who told jurors he saw both Nobles and Burnette shot in the head.
Marc Lindberg, a psychologist and expert in childhood memory, testified for the defense that the child’s testimony was unreliable.
Harden’s lawyers also accused one juror of consulting a Bible and relying on its guidance in reaching her decision to sentence Harden to death.
The juror testified Tuesday that wasn’t true but she acknowledged learning from the Bible that she could sentence Harden to death.
Harden also has criticized his lawyers who defended him during the capital murder trial. He claims they admitted his guilt during the capital murder trial without his consent.
That’s not so, prosecutors said in court documents.
“The record shows that trial counsel represented Harden ably ,” the prosecutors wrote. “The jury could have, but did not, draw a reasonable inference that Harden reasonably believed that he was fighting for his life.”