MARION COUNTY, Ind. — A man accused of killing IMPD Officer Breann Leath is attempting to have the death penalty removed as an option in the case. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office responded to the motion on Thursday.
Officer Leath was fatally shot in April 2020 while responding to a domestic violence call. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Elliahs Dorsey, the accused killer, as Officer Leath was killed while on duty.
According to an affidavit filed three years ago, Dorsey confessed to officers that he fired shots through a closed apartment door because he thought someone was coming to get him and did not look to see who it was. Dorsey is claiming that he did not know Officer Leath was a police officer when he fired the shots and is seeking to have the death penalty removed from his trial.
Prosecutors argued that this is a defense that the jury will need to consider and are asking the judge to allow the death penalty case to proceed. Dorsey is also claiming that the death penalty is unconstitutional and should not be allowed, but attorney Mario Massillamany stated that this claim has already been litigated in front of the United States Supreme Court and the Indiana Supreme Court, and both have found the death penalty to be valid in the state of Indiana.
There is no timeline for the judge to decide on the death penalty motion. Dorsey is currently set for a jury trial in September.
