A convicted murderer said he wanted to die during a brief hearing Monday that marked his first appearance in a Fulton County courtroom since being charged in November for his alleged role in the slaying of a gay Midtown man.
Howard Milton Belcher, 26, is charged with murder in the Oct. 5, 2002, death of Mark Schaller, a 40-year-old gay man who lived in an upscale Midtown condominium. Fulton County prosecutors said in November they decided against seeking the death penalty for Belcher.
But during a 10-minute hearing Monday, Assistant District Attorney Anna Green served Belcher with notice that prosecutors intend to pursue the death penalty, calling Belcher’s alleged role in Schaller’s death “outrageously or wantonly vile.”
A convicted murderer said he wanted to die during a brief hearing Monday that marked his first appearance in a Fulton County courtroom since being charged in November for his alleged role in the slaying of a gay Midtown man.
Howard Milton Belcher, 26, is charged with murder in the Oct. 5, 2002, death of Mark Schaller, a 40-year-old gay man who lived in an upscale Midtown condominium. Fulton County prosecutors said in November they decided against seeking the death penalty for Belcher.
But during a 10-minute hearing Monday, Assistant District Attorney Anna Green served Belcher with notice that prosecutors intend to pursue the death penalty, calling Belcher’s alleged role in Schaller’s death “outrageously or wantonly vile.”
