Auman's Attorney Says Life Sentence Too Harsh

DENVER -- An attorney asked the Colorado Supreme Court Thursday to throw out the murder conviction and life sentence for a woman found guilty in the slaying of a Denver police officer while she was in police custody.

Lisl Auman's Attorneys Fight To Overturn Conviction Discuss Case SURVEY: Should Court Overturn Conviction?

Lisl Auman was sentenced to life in prison for the 1997 shooting death of officer Bruce VanderJagt.

The Colorado Supreme Court is reviewing an appeals court decision that upheld her felony murder conviction.

Auman was in police custody -- handcuffed and in the back of a police car -- when her friend Matthaeus Jaehnig shot VanderJagt, but a jury convicted her of felony murder, saying that she had set in motion a chain of events that led to the deadly shootout.

SURVEY Do you think Lisl Auman's conviction of felony murder is fair? Yes. She was involved and her actions, direct or not, led to a police officer's death. No. She didn't shoot the officer. She shouldn't be serving life in prison for that crime. I think she should be convicted of a lesser crime. I don't know. Results  |  Disclaimer

Auman's lawyers feel the life sentence is unjustified and want her conviction overturned.

Attorney Kathleen Lord told the state Supreme Court that Auman had no way of knowing that Jaehnig had guns in his car or that he would shoot the officer.

Lord said the state statute allowing companions in a felony to be convicted of murder is wrong.

"It lets someone who didn't mean to kill and who didn't kill to be found guilty of Colorado's most serious offense," she told the five justices who heard the appeal.

Assistant Attorney General Paul Koehler told the court the sentence was just.

"Of course it's a harsh rule. It's intended to be a harsh rule to make sure people take adult responsibility for their actions," he said.

The ruling could set a national precedent for felony murder. A person can be convicted of felony murder in Colorado if a slaying occurs as he or she commits a crime or flees from a crime. State law does not require the defendant to have a direct role in the killing.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and other groups have said the case highlights problems with the felony murder statute and the possibility the law can be abused.

The state Court of Appeals in September 2002 upheld Auman's murder conviction and her other convictions on charges of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.

Jaehnig committed suicide after the shooting. Prosecutors say Auman is responsible for the shooting because she recruited Jaehnig and three others to break into her ex-boyfriend's apartment on Nov. 12, 1997. Police gave chase and Jaehnig shot at officers during the ensuing police chase.

At the time VanderJagt was slain, Auman had already been captured.

Police said Jaehnig shot VanderJagt with a gun that Auman handed him, then used VanderJagt's gun to kill himself.