Judge Decides Against A New Trial For Wis. Man Convicted Of Killing Photographer

Tuesday, May 22nd 2007, 9:51 pm

By: News On 6

MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) _ There will be no new trial for a man convicted of murdering a photographer 3 1/2 years after his release from prison for a rape he did not commit, a judge said Tuesday.

Steven Avery, 44, was convicted in March of killing photographer Teresa Halbach, 25, in 2005, then burning her body. DNA evidence had exonerated Avery of a 1985 rape after he had spent 18 years in prison.

His nephew, Brendan Dassey, 17, also was convicted in Halbach's killing. His sentencing date is Aug. 6.

Avery's lawyers asked for a new trial last month, saying the jury's verdict was ``inconsistent and irreconcilable.''

Manitowoc County Circuit Judge Patrick Willis said in a Tuesday hearing that he was not aware of any Wisconsin case law that allowed a judge to overturn a jury's verdict for inconsistency.

Avery will be sentenced June 1 and faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, plus 10 years. Willis has the option of setting a parole eligibility date.

Avery has claimed he was framed for Halbach's murder by the same sheriff's department that put him away in the 1985 case.

``This is just the first round,'' said Jerome Buting, one of Avery's attorneys. ``One thing it has done is guaranteed that there will be an appeal, as opposed to a new trial in the shorter term.''