|
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A man who confessed to shooting an abortion provider did so only to win the release of a woman who helped him evade capture, his lawyer argued Monday in seeking to have the confession thrown out in his upcoming trial.
The lawyer, John Humann, said James Kopp's confession was the result of a deal between Kopp's former attorney and the government that trampled on Kopp's rights. The former attorney, Bruce Barket, was also representing the woman, Loretta Marra, at the time Kopp made the statements to reporters, Humann said.
Barket had an obvious conflict of interest, Humann said, and the government knew it.
"They were involved up to their eyeballs," the lawyer said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mehltretter acknowledged discussions with Barket but said no deal was finalized.
"There was no government influence in any statements that Mr. Kopp made to the press," Mehltretter said.
Kopp, who is serving 25 years to life in state prison, was convicted last year of second-degree murder in the death of Dr. Barnett Slepian. He is charged in federal court with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
While awaiting trial in the murder case, Kopp admitted carrying out the sniper attack but said he meant only to wound Slepian, and "the bullet took a crazy ricochet."
"The truth is not that I regret shooting Dr. Slepian. I regret that he died," Kopp said in the 2002 jailhouse interview with The Buffalo News.
Kopp, 48, could be sentenced to life without parole if convicted of the federal charge. He would be 73 years old before becoming eligible for parole on the murder conviction.
Humann also sought to have the federal charge dropped altogether or, barring that, a change of venue because of extensive publicity.
Mehltretter countered that Kopp brought on much of the publicity himself with his newspaper interview.
The judge did not rule Monday.
Marra and her husband, Dennis Malvasi, spent more than two years in prison for aiding Kopp after the shooting. | 
