An attorney for Lewis M. Jordan, found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 2007 shooting of a Philadelphia police officer in a Dunkin Donuts, argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Wednesday that evidence put on during the guilt phase of the trial improperly swayed the jury to find Jordan committed premeditated murder.
Defense attorney Michael Coard said his client had pled guilty to the robbery and murder, leaving the jury to decide only whether the killing of Officer Chuck Cassidy was a first- or second-degree offense. But the evidence, including the widow’s testimony and playing surveillance footage of the crime in slow motion, was prejudicial to his client, Coard said.
