Former Police Chief Defends Handling of Portland Murder Case

PORTLAND, Maine - A former Maine police chief is defending the handling of a murder case.
 
WCSH-TV reports that former Portland Police Chief Mike Chitwood says he still believes Anthony Sanborn killed his childhood girlfriend, Jessica Briggs, in 1989. Sanborn served 27 years in prison, but was released on bail in April after a witness recanted her statement.
 
Chitwood, now a police chief in suburban Philadelphia, says his officers were ethical. He adds that prosecutor Pamela Ames is "beyond reproach'' and that he doesn't know why the witness waited 25 years to recant her testimony.
 
Sanborn's lawyer, Amy Fairfield, says police pressured a witness to testify against Sanborn. Fairfield also says a detective kept key evidence in his house and failed to turn it over to defense lawyers during the trial.