A man sentenced to 38 years in prison for the execution-style killing of a friend has asked the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to have his sentence reconsidered, arguing it was influenced by ethnic bias.

Daudoit Butsitsi, now 29, was convicted in 2011 of shooting to death his roommate Serge Mulongo, 24, on Feb. 10, 2010.

Butsitsi’s attorney for the appeal, David Paris, argued before Maine’s supreme court justices on Thursday morning that his client’s sentence appeared to have been influenced by statements from others in Maine’s Central African immigrant community. Butsitsi is from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Elders in the community testified during the sentencing hearing that the sentence should send a message to others in that community that violence is not an acceptable way to solve problems.

Paris faced aggressive questioning from the justices, who challenged him to show what portions of the trial judge’s sentencing remarks made reference to ethnicity or race.

Paris said statements urging a long sentence to send a message to the African immigrant community appeared to inappropriately influence Superior Court Justice Andrew Horton.

Horton cited those statements when handing down Butsitsi’s sentence, Paris said. “The court took it as an ‘exhortation,’ ” he said, quoting from the sentencing transcript. Paris said court precedent has determined that race, nationality or ethnicity should play no role in sentencing.

Justice Donald Alexander noted that Butsitsi’s defense attorney had raised his client’s violent upbringing in Africa in trying to explain Butsitsi’s actions, so it was not inappropriate for the judge to say that Butsitsi’s background did not excuse his behavior. He noted that Horton specifically said the sentence was intended to deter similar behavior for all people in Maine.

Alexander also noted that the sentencing phase of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial has included references to his Muslim upbringing. He questioned whether someone could argue that might inappropriately affect sentencing.

Speaking for the state, Assistant Attorney General Lauren LaRochelle said Butsitsi’s sentence was based on the fact that he shot his friend six times in front of two witnesses, and took into account his lack of a criminal record, his exposure to violence growing up and the impact on the victim’s family. The court did not base its sentence at all on his national origin, she said.

Alexander suggested Butsitsi did not receive a disproportionately harsh sentence, noting that Horton “imposed a sentence that was pretty light for an ambush murder.” The prosecution had asked for 45 years.

Paris responded, “Clearly the sentence was not illegal. We’re saying it was illegally imposed.”

The justices are expected to rule at a future date.

David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Mainehenchman