WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Eric Daley, who led Vermont State Police on a high-speed chase in 2003 that resulted in the death of Trooper Michael Johnson, of Bradford, Vt., has lost his appeal for a new sentencing hearing.
On Friday, Windsor Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi denied Daley’s request for “post-conviction relief.” At a hearing in February, Daley asked Tomasi to vacate his 26- to 33-year sentence on the grounds that his court-appointed lawyers were constitutionally ineffective.
In a 42-page ruling, Tomasi wrote the result of Daley’s case “cannot be blamed on the professional incompetence” of his primary defense lawyer, Mark Harnett, of Rutland. Tomasi concluded that Harnett had developed a “rational strategy” to obtain a plea agreement in 2004 that allowed Daley to “avoid the possibility of the (federal) death penalty.” Harnett died of cancer in 2012.
Daley’s car struck and killed Johnson during the chase. Now 39, he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 2004 and has been incarcerated for more than 16 years. Daley, who is represented by former Vermont Defender General Robert Appel, can appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
— Staff report