Man who killed brother gets nine years

Staff photo by Gordon Chibroski

Edmond "Bill" Davis watches his mother pass by after she spoke in his defense before his sentencing for killing his brother at her Portland home in November.

Edmond "Bill" Davis, de- scribed as a good man who did a bad thing, was sentenced to nine years in prison Wednesday for the Thanksgiving Day shooting death of his younger brother.

Superior Court Justice Paul Fritzsche said Davis was a devoted son to his 74-year-old mother and dedicated father to his 6-year-old daughter. Davis' solid work history in the Coast Guard and U.S. Postal Service set him apart from many criminal defendants, and so did his clean criminal record.

But none of that could outweigh Davis' actions, the judge said, when he fired a gun at his brother, Michael Davis.

"I can't simply say that there are so many other good things in your life that I'm going to give you a minimum mandatory sentence," Fritzsche said. The killing of Michael Davis, he said, was "unnecessary and could have been easily avoided and I must recognize the gravity of that."

Fritzsche delivered his ruling to a courtroom full of Davis' family, friends and former coworkers, who pleaded for leniency.

Even Laura Davis, mother of both the killer and victim and the only witness to the crime, spoke briefly on Bill Davis' behalf. Clutching a well-used Kleenex, the frail woman leaned toward a microphone and said, "My son is not a bad person."

On her way back to her seat, she smiled at her son and shook her fist in encouragement.

Davis' lawyer, Randall Bates, said Davis believed he was protecting himself and his mother when he shot his brother. Bates asked for a four-year sentence, the minimum allowable under a plea agreement reached with Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese last month. Marchese asked for Davis to serve 15 years.

Referring to a transcript of a police interview with Davis in the hours after the shooting, Marchese said Bill Davis, not his brother, was the aggressor in the fatal fight.

Bill Davis started drinking Mountain Dew and vodka at 8 a.m. that day and made sure his gun was accessible, she said. Davis had no injuries from a fist fight that led to the shooting, but his brother had a number of bruises and scrapes.

In her statement to police, Laura Davis said she never felt threatened by her younger son. Marchese said Bill Davis had put his mother in danger when he fired a gun at close range in a small room while she was standing in front of him.

No one spoke on behalf of Michael Davis Wednesday. He was 51 at the time of his death and had a long criminal record, which included serving time in jail for burglary.

Family members say he was an alcoholic who rarely worked. He had been living in New Orleans, but returned to Maine shortly before his death after his brother sent him money to travel home after Hurricane Katrina.

"Apparently he was a troubled man," Marchese said of Michael Davis. "But his mother loved him, just as she loves her other son."

Witnesses said Bill Davis also had a drinking problem but seemed to have it under control. According to his lawyer, he had been sober for 10 years before relapsing about five days before the shooting.

Bates said Davis believed he had to stop his brother to protect his mother and that's why he didn't avoid the conflict.

"He didn't leave home because he couldn't," Bates said. "He didn't want to leave his mother alone with his brother like that."

Davis' ex-wife, Lyn Schlaack, said he should be allowed to get out of prison as soon as possible so he could care for his mother, as he had done since he was 11 years old.

When imposing the sentence, Fritzsche agreed with most of the comments in support of Davis.

He said he considered it highly unlikely Davis would ever shoot anyone else, especially if he stays away from alcohol. The judge said he did not feel the need to use the sentence to send a message to others.

But Fritzsche said he did feel that a minimum sentence would diminish the gravity of the offense.

"That's why I can't agree with the defense recommendation," he said. "The problem is ultimately, your brother is dead and that is extremely serious."

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