Ashford L. Thompson, May 2010
In day one of Ashford L. Thompson's murder trial, in which he faces the death penalty, his attorney told the jury that there will be no debate over who killed Miktarian.
"On July 13th of 2008, Ashford Thompson took out a gun and with that gun shot officer Josh Miktarian," said attorney John Greven. "There is no dispute. We aren't gonna argue that it happened."
The defense is admitting the crime, but hoping to convince jurors there was no premeditation -- if they can do that, they hope to avoid the death penalty.
"I want you to focus on why did it happen," Greven said.
For their part, prosecutors told jurors that, hours before the shooting, Thompson was heard by one witness saying: "There is demons in me. I will kill if another [expletive deleted] threatens me. Nobody understands the [expletive deleted] I've done and I'm capable of."
Jurors also visited the scene of the crime on a busy first day. The trial resumed in Akron on Tuesday.
WKYC-TV