Killer’s daughter wants him to live

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2000 | 11:35 a.m.

Scott Bedard's little girl wants him to live.

As prosecutors began their quest Monday to get Bedard executed, defense attorney Pete Christiansen tried to put a human face on his client.

Scheduled to testify during the penalty phase of Bedard's trial was his daughter, who wants her father to live, even if it's only through letters, Christiansen said.

Christiansen told the jurors Monday he hopes they will "stop the killing."

Jurors found Bedard, 34, guilty Friday of killing Billy Hanlon Jr. in August 1997. Prosecutors say Bedard killed the cleaning service owner after he stumbled upon Bedard during a burglary. The 33-year-old Hanlon, the son of former state Board of Education member Bill Hanlon Sr., was found shot to death Aug. 6, 1997.

Prosecutors Dave Schwartz and Dave Barker say Bedard has forfeited his right to live and argue there are far more aggravating circumstances in the case than mitigating.

The attorneys reminded the jurors that the murder took place during the commission of a robbery and burglary. Moreover, Bedard killed Hanlon because he didn't want to go back to prison on a parole violation for burglary.

Just hours before the slaying, Schwartz told jurors, Bedard had beaten his girlfriend with his fists and a telephone as she held their 3-month-old son in her arms.

And, while he was awaiting trial, Bedard tried to choke a corrections officer as he was being escorted out of the courtroom.

"The only appropriate sentence for a person who can't behave while in custody and on the streets, the only appropriate sentence for someone who is extremely dangerous, is the imposition of the death penalty," Schwartz said.

But, despite his long criminal record, Christiansen said Bedard is a good father who continues to write his 13-year-old daughter about the virtues of saying prayers, brushing your teeth and respecting your mother.