''State of Wyoming v. Ed Cantrell'' (officially the ''State of Wyoming v. Edward Lee Cantrell'') was a state trial of
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
police officer
Ed Cantrell for the killing of Michael Angel Rosa, an undercover narcotics agent in
Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Rosa had previously been working towards uncovering the immense corruption in the city.
After only three hours of deliberations, the jury accepted Cantrell's
self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), ...
argument, and acquitted him of
first-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...
.
Famed lawyer
Gerry Spence
Gerald Leonard Spence (born January 8, 1929) is a semi-retired American trial lawyer and author. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and is the founder of the Trial Lawyers College. Spence has never lost a criminal trial before a jur ...
won the acquittal of Cantrell in what was deemed an "impossible case".
Background
Outside a saloon in Rock Springs, in an unmarked police vehicle, Ed Cantrell shot Michael A. Rosa out of the belief that he was unstable and going for his gun to shoot, with two other officers present in the car during the shooting, those being officers Matt Bider and James Callas.
Michael A. Rosa had been working towards uncovering the largest amount of corruption in the city, with Rosa being set to testify to a grand jury about the corruption.
Cantrell's friends posted his bail of $250,000.
Justice of the Peace Nena Stafford ruled on February 7 of 1979 that Cantrell would have to stand trial on the charge of first-degree murder, after 15 days of preliminary hearings.
Trial
Despite the murder occurring in Rock Springs, the defense requested a change of venue, which was accepted and granted to
Pinedale, Wyoming, with judge Kenneth Hamm kept as the presiding judge. The prosecutors were from
Sweetwater County
Sweetwater County is a County (United States), county in southwestern Wyoming, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 42,272, making it the List of counties in Wyoming, fourth-most populous county in Wyoming. Its ...
, those being Robert Pickett and Jack Smith.
Cantrell shot Rosa between the eyes with his
.38 caliber pistol, claiming that Rosa was about to draw on him, other witnesses testified that Rosa had a wine bottle between his legs.
After only three hours of jury deliberations, Ed Cantrell was found not guilty, with the jury accepting his argument of self-defense against Michael Rosa.
Legacy
The killing of Michael Rosa and the following trial of Ed Cantrell has left a legacy in
Rock Springs. It was listed in the book ''Great American Trials'' by journalist Edward W. Knappman. ''The Last Western: The Unjustified Killing of Michael Rosa by Ed Cantrell'' by
Rone Tempest covers the infamous case.
Michael Rosa's spouse, Rebecca Rosa, filed a
wrongful death lawsuit, seeking $1 million in damages as a result of her husband's killing, but ended up being dismissed by the court.
[{{Cite web , title=ROSA v. CANTRELL, 508 F. Supp. 330 {{! Casetext Search + Citator , url=https://casetext.com/case/rosa-v-cantrell-2 , access-date=2024-10-14 , website=casetext.com]
References
Murder trials in the United States
20th-century American trials
Criminal trials that ended in acquittal