SEATTLE TIMES FILE PHOTO

Officers escort Omar Norman out of the courtroom after he was found guilty of first-degree murder in June.

When given a chance to plead for leniency in court this morning, convicted killer Omar Norman instead directed his anger at prosecutors and the media.

Norman said he had nothing to do with Terrell Milam's 2005 slaying, but knew he wouldn't get a fair shake before a jury because the case against him had been blasted across newspaper pages and television screens. Norman said the state's case was full of so many holes that Ray Charles could have seen through it.

King County Superior Court Judge Regina Cahan then sentenced Norman to more than 52 years in prison, the sentence that was being sought by the King County Prosecutor's Office.

Last month, a jury found Norman guilty of first-degree murder in the October 2005 slaying of Milam, 31. Norman was also found guilty of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Milam, a gang member, had gone for a predawn ride Oct. 17, 2005, with Norman and Charles Justice, both alleged gang members, just hours after Milam had brawled with then-Seahawks player Ken Hamlin outside a Pioneer Square nightclub.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Castleton claimed during the trial that Milam was shot because he said the wrong thing. Milam told Norman and Justice that he had been involved in the nonfatal shooting of a man named "Rollo." Milam didn't realize Raphael "Rollo" Justice was Charles Justice's older brother.

Norman's lawyer, Don Minor, argued during the trial that the DNA evidence was flawed. Minor sought a low-end sentence of about 40 years for his client.

"There was never evidence of premeditation. I thought this was a court of law," Norman said in court today. He said proesecutors "made me look like Al Capone, John Gotti or somebody."