ROCKLAND, Maine — A 49-year-old Maine State Prison inmate pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to charges that he was involved in the 2011 beating death of another prisoner.
Franklin Higgins entered not guilty pleas before Justice Jeffrey Hjelm in Knox County Superior Court to two counts of aggravated attempted murder.
Higgins had originally been indicted in October for murder in connection to the death of fellow prisoner Lloyd Millett. Assistant Maine Attorney General Leane Zainea noted at a hearing in March that an autopsy showed there may have been another contributing cause to Millett’s death so the revised indictment was sought.
The April indictment said Higgins struck Millett in the head with a pipe clamp and that this was a substantial step toward committing murder.
Higgins made no other comments during his Monday arraignment that lasted less than 5 minutes. He was brought into court in shackles and handcuffs, wearing orange prison garb.
Justice Hjelm gave parties 60 days to file pretrial motions.
Higgins is represented by attorney Philip Cohen of Waldoboro.
Millett, 51, died June 7 at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after being assaulted May 24 at the prison.
Higgins remains at the state prison where he is serving a 45-year prison sentence for the 1999 killing of Katherine Poor inside her Kenduskeag home.
Millett was in prison for killing two women in 1995 — Terrie Lizotte, 39, of Canton and Rachelle Anne Williams, 33, of Gorham, N.H.
i know this guy he is a cold blooded killer hopefully he will be convicted and never be released, but at least there is one less killer being taken care of by tax payers.
Too much violence in the world. Earlier today I read about a naked man chewing the face off another naked man in broad day light by the off ramp of the causeway in Miami. Police had to shoot and kill the attacker because he wouldn’t stop when police told him to…just kept chewing. They think he was on bath salts. Insane.
OMG! Shirley you jest!
No, I’ve never seen you fib.
I wish I were just joking, but I’m not. It’s all over the national news with headings like zombie attack in Miami; Naked cannibal chews off man’s face; Naked man shot by police while eating another man’s face. There are even pictures circulating online and I will warn you…do NOT look for them…you don’t want to see them. I have a stomach of steel and nearly puked.
Here’s a non-photo link to the story from CNN: (there is a video, but this only shows the legs of the guys and blurred out nether regions. It doesn’t show the gore.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/29/reports-miami-zombie-attacker-may-have-been-using-bath-salts/?hpt=us_r1
Thank you for the link (Ii think) and UGH! The world news is atrocious enough, but this really, Really, tops it.
I am actually surprised the BDN hasn’t reported about it…it is so bizarre and all over the national news.
At least they’re feeding off each other. There’s more to come.
Nasty and harsh? Maybe….