Michael K. Addison

There was ongoing debate about capital punishment in New Hampshire, which had not executed anyone since Howard Long in 1939.

Michael Briggs (May 2, 1971 – October 17, 2006) was born in Epsom, New Hampshire, and served in the United States Marines from 1991 to 1995 after graduating from Pembroke Academy in 1990.

Born in Boston on March 19, 1980, Michael Addison was adopted at age two by Rosetta Addison, his maternal grandmother, and her husband, Lucious Addison, a disabled Vietnam veteran.

Lucious and Rosetta later divorced, and Rosetta reared her teenage children and "Little Michael" in what was described as a chaotic setting.

He attended high school in Dorchester but did not graduate.

At trial, the defense presented material about Addison's troubled upbringing: his time with his grandmother in Brockton, Massachusetts and also his time with his alcoholic mother in one of Boston's most violent and drug-ridden housing projects in the Roxbury neighborhood.

The defense argued for life imprisonment without parole.

At the time of the Briggs shooting, Michael "Stix" Addison was a Manchester, New Hampshire resident.

There had been previous encounters between Officer Briggs and Michael Addison.

From 1995 to 2001 he worked as a correctional officer and a police officer for the Epsom Police Department 1995–1998.

This was the first trial for capital murder in the state since Gordon E. Perry was indicted for the capital murder of Officer Jeremy Charron in 1997.

At the conclusion of the trial, Michael Addison was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Addison is the only person on death row in New Hampshire.

He was a friend and co-worker of Jeremy Charron, who was killed on duty in August 1997.

On May 2, 2001, his 30th birthday, Briggs became a police officer for the Manchester Police Department and was assigned as a bicycle police officer.

Briggs graduated from the New Hampshire Police Academy in November 2001.

In 2002, Addison was arrested by Briggs near the Queen City Bridge in Manchester.

In March 2003, Addison received first aid from Briggs after a shooting incident, assistance which may have saved the young man's life.

The shooter, Thomas Williams, was arrested on July 15, 2003, and pleaded guilty in March 2004.

In October 2003, Addison was arrested in Londonderry, New Hampshire, charged with false imprisonment, criminal restraint, prowling, and criminal threatening.

In 2004, he received a life-saving medal after saving residents from a burning building.

He was awarded the Congressional Law Enforcement Award in October 2005 for the same actions.

Briggs was a member of the New Hampshire Police Association.

Briggs was married and the father of two young sons.

The murder of Michael Briggs occurred on October 16, 2006, in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States.

Briggs, a police officer, was shot while on duty and was transported to the hospital, where he died of his injuries.

The suspect, Michael "Stix" Addison, fled New Hampshire, prompting a manhunt by police.

Fifteen hours after the shooting, Addison was arrested in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

He was charged by Boston Police with being a fugitive from justice.

He waived domestic extradition and was transported back to New Hampshire.

Addison was transported to the Suffolk County Jail in New Hampshire where his bail was set at $2 million (2006 US$).

New Hampshire prosecutors sought the death penalty for Michael Addison, since killing the police officer qualified the crime as a capital murder.

A string of crimes that began a week earlier and culminated with the shooting of Officer Briggs on October 16, 2006 resulted in the arrest and questioning of two more people connected with Addison.

A week after the shooting, a memorial service and procession were held for Briggs in Manchester, New Hampshire, on October 21, 2006.

In October 2006, Williams was given a deal for a shortened sentence contingent upon his testifying for the prosecution in the Officer Briggs murder case.

In January 2007, the Manchester Police Department retired Michael Briggs' badge number in honor of the fallen officer.

In March 2007, a trial date for Addison was set for early September 2008.

The state supreme court upheld his conviction and sentence in 2014–2015.

The US Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

In August 2019, Mitchell Briggs, son of Michael Briggs, graduated from the NH Police Academy 18 years after his father.