The lawyer for a Maine man convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl in 1988 is appealing to the state’s highest court.
Steven Peterson, who represents Dennis Dechaine, tells WGME-TV that’s he’s preparing an appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court after a Superior Court judge in April rejected his client’s request for a new trial.
Dechaine was convicted of killing 12-year-old Sarah Cherry of Bowdoin, but he has maintained his innocence.
Peterson says DNA evidence found under the girl’s fingernails points to another male suspect. He says there are several other reasons his client could not have killed Sarah.
A judge in April rejected the new DNA evidence and said there was plenty of other evidence to convict Dechaine.
Prosecutors have called Dechaine’s numerous appeals “a wild goose chase.”
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.