Newspaper Deliveryman Gets New Trial in Shooting of Boss

By: A former deliveryman for an Upper Peninsula newspaper has been awarded a new trial in the shooting death of his boss as coworkers fled in terror more than seven years ago.

Nathan Paul Hanna was convicted of first degree-murder and given a life sentence in the July 23, 1998, killing of Anthony Gillespie, circulation manager of The Evening News of Sault Ste. Marie. The jury found Hanna guilty but mentally ill, rejecting his insanity defense.

The verdict was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the state Supreme Court refused to hear the case. But U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell granted Hanna's petition for a new trial, saying his conviction was tainted by prosecutorial misconduct and improper police questioning.

Hanna's trial attorney, Elizabeth Church, acknowledged repeatedly he had fired the fatal shots, and Bell said in his ruling there was "virtually no doubt" Hanna had done so.

"This case, however, concerns the fairness of (his) criminal trial," Bell said.

He ordered the state to re-try or release Hanna within 90 days of his Nov. 17 order. Hanna, 46, is being held at Riverside Correctional Facility in Ionia.

Brian Peppler, the Chippewa County prosecuting attorney, was out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment. He told The Evening News on Thursday that his office was prepared to bring the case to trial a second time.

Public defender Valerie Newman, who represented Hanna during his appeals, said the conviction should have been overturned before reaching the federal court.

"It's taken too long to get justice for Mr. Hanna," Newman said. "Textbook errors were committed in this case and they should have been remedied long ago."

Witnesses testified that Hanna carried a 12-gauge shotgun into the newspaper's circulation department, spoke briefly with Gillespie, then shot him in the head. They said he shot Gillespie a second time, then walked away.

Some employees, unaware the gunman was gone, hid inside the darkroom more than five hours as police cordoned off the area.

Police shot Hanna several times three days later after he was spotted walking along a road outside town, still carrying his shotgun.

While recovering in the hospital, Hanna gave a bizarre tape-recorded statement in which he admitted killing Gillespie, describing him as the "Antichrist," a biblical symbol of evil.

A government psychologist testified Hanna was legally insane ? unable to tell right from wrong or to resist the compulsion to commit a crime.

Farrell Elliott, then the prosecutor, acknowledged Hanna had mental problems but said they didn't meet the threshold for acquittal.

In his ruling, Bell said Hanna's confession could not be considered voluntary even though he hadn't requested an attorney. He was medicated, in pain, suicidal and hadn't eaten for days, the judge said.

Bell also faulted Elliott for making improper comments that could have prejudiced the jury against the insanity defense. The failure of Hanna's attorney to object to those remarks was ineffective representation, also grounds for a new trial, Bell said.

Evening News publisher Howard Kaiser said a second trial would be difficult for his staff.

"It's a real shame for everybody," Kaiser said. "It's a waste of time and money and it's just reopening the wounds."