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Thread: Gregory L. Wilson - Kentucky

  1. #41
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Kentucky Supreme Court delves into DNA evidence, attorney performance in death penalty case

    A skeptical group of justices from the Kentucky Supreme Court is weighing whether DNA testing results would impact the death sentence of a man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a woman from northern Kentucky 27 years ago.

    Justices quizzed the attorney for 57-year-old Gregory L. Wilson on Thursday about what, if any, effect DNA testing on evidence would have on the conviction.

    Wilson was convicted on Oct. 31, 1988, of kidnapping and killing Deborah "Debbie" Pooley of Kenton County 19 months earlier. Biological samples recovered from Pooley's car have not been tested before.

    Prosecutors say Wilson raped and later strangled Pooley while an accomplice drove. Her body was found in Indiana two weeks later.

    Kentucky is under a judge's order halting all executions in the state.

    http://www.tribtown.com/view/story/d...cutions-Wilson
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  2. #42
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Kentucky Supreme Court upholds Gregory Wilson's death sentence

    FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKRC) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a man sentenced to death in a notorious murder case. The justices upheld Gregory Wilson's death sentence for killing Deborah Pooley. Wilson kidnapped, raped and strangled the Covington woman in 1987. His latest appeal involved Wilson's claimed his request for DNA testing was denied. Wilson's girlfriend, Brenda Humphrey, is in prison for driving the car while Wilson committed the gruesome crime. She's next up for parole in 2017.

    http://www.local12.com/news/features...e-226139.shtml

  3. #43
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Kentucky Supreme Court upholds conviction, sentence for death row inmate

    LOUISVILLE, Ky., (WDRB) – Despite harshly criticizing prosecutors for losing DNA evidence for more than two decades, the Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and sentence of a man on death row for a kidnapping, robbery, rape and murder from 1987.

    In a unanimous ruling, the high court last week rejected Gregory L. Wilson’s request to have DNA testing performed on evidence found at the crime scene, ruling it would not change the outcome even if it wasn’t linked to him.

    The DNA at the crime scene - semen and hairs in an automobile - wouldn’t clear Wilson because the car had been abandoned and by the time police found it, “it was in a ramshackle condition” perhaps “at the hands of the various transient occupants,” according to the ruling.

    In addition, the high court found the evidence was “overwhelming” that Wilson was guilty of murdering 36-year-old Deborah “Debbie” Pooley in 1987.

    A co-defendant, Brenda Humphrey, identified Wilson as the killer and Wilson also used Pooley’s credit card, according to the ruling. When Wilson and Humphrey were arrested, they were wearing gold chains belonging to Pooley.

    Prosecutors have said Humphrey drove while Wilson raped and strangled Pooley in the backseat after kidnapping her from Kenton County on May 29, 1987. Her naked body was found in Indiana a few weeks later.

    The Supreme Court justices criticized prosecutors in their opinion, pointing out that for more than 20 years, the commonwealth said hairs found at the scene were lost.

    But prosecutors had conducted only a “cursory” search for the hairs, which have since been located in a lab.

    “The commonwealth’s ‘search’ for the hairs has always been a disappointing aspect of the case,” the high court wrote.

    While testing of the hairs would not change the outcome of the case, “our justice system demands better,” the justices said in the ruling.

    Wilson was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 16, 2010, but the execution was halted by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd. Shepherd had questions about Wilson's mental status and state execution regulations.

    http://www.wdrb.com/story/31327405/k...ath-row-inmate
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  4. #44
    Moderator Dave from Florida's Avatar
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    This has got to be Kentucky's most litigated death penalty case. Meanwhile 8 years after Baze, Judge Shepherd continues to stall the state on the lethal injection case.

  5. #45
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    He was sentenced to death after a scandalous trial. Matt Bevin commuted his sentence

    BY ANDREW WOLFSON
    THE LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL

    In one of his last official acts, now former Gov. Matt Bevin spared a man whose 1988 murder trial was described as a travesty of justice and a national embarrassment for Kentucky from the death penalty.

    In commuting Gregory Wilson’s sentence to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years, Bevin wrote that Wilson was involved in a “brutal murder” but “to say his legal defense was inadequate would be the understatement of the year."

    “Justice should be served on all sides. It was not,” Bevin said in a Friday order that made Wilson, 63, immediately eligible for parole.

    Wilson’s lawyer, retired Chief Louisville Metro Public Defender Dan Goyette, said he was gratified that “at long last, a shameful travesty of justice has finally been remedied.”

    He said Bevin deserves credit for having the “courage and sense of justice” to take action that “none of his predecessors were willing to take.”

    After attorneys in Northern Kentucky refused to defend Wilson for a maximum state fee that was then only $2,500, a judge in Kenton County posted a sign on his courtroom door saying “PLEASE HELP. DESPERATE.”

    Two lawyers came forward, but one had never tried a felony before and the other, William Hagedorn, who offered to serve as lead counsel for free, had no office, no law books, and on his business card, he gave out the phone number of a local tavern.

    His co-counsel later said he “manifested all signs of a burned-out alcoholic.”

    Hagedorn wandered in and out of the courtroom, cross-examined virtually no witnesses and presented no evidence to support a lesser penalty than death.

    Years later, it was revealed that Wilson's co-defendant, Brenda Humphrey, who testified against him, was taken each day of the trial to the chambers of another judge, where they had sex.

    Asking Bevin for clemency, Goyette wrote that “from the start, the proceedings were rife with legal error, malpractice, conflicts of interest, unprofessional conduct and highly inappropriate acts by judicial officers.”

    U.S. Appeals Judge Boyce F. Martin Jr. wrote that over his 30 years on the bench, Wilson’s trial stood out as "one of the worst examples I have ever seen of the unfairness and abysmal lawyering that pervade capital trials.”

    Wilson, who is black, was convicted of the abduction, rape, robbery and murder of Debbie Pooley, 36, an assistant restaurant manager in Newport, and sentenced to death, while Humphrey, who is white, was convicted of kidnapping and facilitation to rape and murder and was released on parole after serving a sentence of life without parole for 25 years.

    Goyette cited that racial disparity in the petition for clemency, noting that Humphrey "confessed to her sister that she, Brenda, was the one who killed the victim by slitting her throat."

    Bevin noted in his commutation order the fact that the "actual admitted killer is now out of prison and his co-defendant is on death row would indicate that Mr. Wilson got the short end of the justice stick.”

    Ironically, in commuting Wilson's sentence, Bevin concurred with his frequent adversary, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd, who in 2010 blocked a death warrant for Wilson citing questions about the quality of his legal counsel.

    Bevin last year called Shepherd an "incompetent hack of a judge." The death warrant was signed in 2010 by another one of Bevin's adversaries, then-Gov. Steve Beshear.

    Shepherd also noted "irregularities" at Wilson's trial, including that he partly represented himself and was also represented by "a volunteer attorney with no death penalty or appellate experience."

    He said, "Mr. Wilson appears to be the only inmate on death row in Kentucky who had no lawyer at trial."

    Defending Wilson’s conviction and death sentence, the attorney general’s office has noted that state and federal courts have upheld both and said Wilson was not prejudiced by Humphrey having sex with another judge.

    Rejecting Wilson’s claim that his counsel was ineffective, Judge Danny Boggs wrote for a three-judge 6th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that “indigent defendants have a right to counsel ... but not the right to counsel of their choice."

    Former Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Buring, who won the death sentence against Wilson, said in a 2010 interview that Wilson was "as deserving — if not more so — of that sentence of any individual I have ever encountered. There is no question he was the killer."

    Critics argued that defense lawyers exploited Wilson’s case to argue for higher fees for counsel for the indigent in capital cases.

    Buring could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday, and both of Pooley’s parents are deceased.

    Claiming Hagedorn and his co-counsel, John Foote, were incompetent, Wilson represented himself during parts of the trial. He delivered his own opening statement, for example, saying only: "I am not a lawyer, and I'm not guilty."

    Wilson’s conviction in the Pooley case was not his first. He had been released from an Ohio prison 10 months before she was raped and murdered, after serving about 13 years on two convictions for rape.

    But Wilson is a changed man after 31 years in prison, according to Goyette and others who have visited him, including a minister who says Wilson converted to Catholicism and is a devout believer. One of his three regular visitors is a Louisville nun, The Courier Journal reported in 2010.

    Goyette said Tuesday he has a call in to Wilson about the commutation of his sentence and was awaiting a call back.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cou...amp/4384704002

  6. #46
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    funny how they barely mention that the guy is a serial rapist.

  7. #47
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Man sentenced to death for NKY rape, murder almost 40 years ago to get chance at parole

    By Quinlan Bentley
    The Cincinnati Enquirer

    A man sentenced to death in 1988 for the rape and murder of a Northern Kentucky woman, but later spared by an order from former Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, will have a chance at parole this month.

    Now 67 years old, Gregory Wilson will go before the Kentucky Parole Board on Jan. 23, officials confirmed Thursday.

    Wilson and his co-defendant, Brenda Humphrey, were convicted of abducting Deborah Pooley in May 1987 from a parking lot near her home in Covington, according to Enquirer reporting from the trial.

    Jurors found that Wilson raped and strangled Pooley to death while Humphrey drove to Indiana.

    The 36-year-old restaurant manager’s decomposed remains were found two weeks later in a field roughly 20 miles west of Indianapolis. She had been robbed and left without clothing.

    Wilson was found guilty of abduction, rape, robbery and murder and sentenced to death. Humphrey was convicted of kidnapping and facilitation to rape and murder and has since been released on parole after serving a sentence of 25 years to life.

    Wilson appealed his convictions and death sentence but remained on death row until Bevin commuted his sentence in December 2019 to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

    “To say that his legal defense was inadequate would be the understatement of the year,” Bevin wrote in his commutation order. “The prosecution and defense in this case were, from start to finish, incredibly incompetent.”

    Wilson’s trial has long been a source of intrigue, not only because of the nature of the offense, but due to his attorneys’ ineptitude and a scandal that wouldn’t be uncovered until years later.

    Several lawyers had been assigned to Wilson’s case but for various reasons, had dropped out.

    When no local attorneys offered to represent Wilson for the then-maximum state fee of $2,500, a Kenton County Circuit Court judge posted a notice outside his courtroom in a desperate plea for volunteers.

    Two lawyers came forward, but one had never tried a felony before and the other, William Hagedorn, who offered to serve as lead counsel for free, had no office, no law books and used the phone number of a local tavern on his business card.

    Hagedorn wandered in and out of the courtroom, cross-examined virtually no witnesses and presented no evidence to support a lesser penalty than death.

    Claiming Hagedorn and his co-counsel, John Foote, were incompetent, Wilson represented himself during parts of the trial. He gave his own opening statement, saying only, “I am not a lawyer, and I’m not guilty,” according to trial transcripts.

    His closing argument was so short it took less than two pages to transcribe, whereas the prosecutor’s argument took 54.

    During the sentencing phase of his trial, Wilson did not present any character witnesses, nor did he point out any mitigating circumstances to the jury.

    “Thus, the defense in this case began with a handwritten note begging for volunteers, and ended with Wilson clumsily attempting to defend himself because he lacked competent counsel,” U.S. 6th Circuit Court Judge Boyce F. Martin Jr. wrote in a 2010 dissenting opinion.

    “Over my more than thirty years on the bench, Wilson’s trial stands out as one of the worst examples that I have seen of the unfairness and abysmal lawyering that pervade capital trials,” Martin added.

    In the years since his trial, Wilson’s lawyers have said that Humphrey’s sister told police that Humphrey admitted to killing Pooley. The sister was never called to the witness stand during Wilson's trial.

    Former Kenton Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Buring, who prosecuted the case, has refuted that claim, saying it’s not supported by the evidence.

    It was revealed years later through court papers that Humphrey, who testified against Wilson identifying him as the killer, was taken each day of the trial to the chambers of another judge, where they had sex.

    That judge was reportedly a good friend of Judge Raymond Lape, who presided over Wilson’s trial.

    In defending Wilson’s conviction and death sentence, the attorney general’s office has noted that state and federal courts have upheld both and said Wilson was not prejudiced by Humphrey having sex with another judge.

    While Pooley’s parents have since died, her nieces told Enquirer media partner Fox19 they fear for their safety should Wilson be released from prison.

    Wilson's conviction for Pooley's killing wasn't his first. He previously spent roughly 13 years in an Ohio prison for two rape convictions and was released just 10 months before Pooley’s death.

    Wilson later pleaded guilty in 1992 to charges in a rape case involving two women in Butler County, court records show. He was indicted in that case shortly after being taken into custody by authorities in Northern Kentucky.

    "Gregory Wilson is a convicted serial rapist and suspected of being a serial killer. Granting him parole would place women’s lives in danger," Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders said in a statement.

    Officials have previously pointed to Wilson as a person of interest in a Newport woman's killing in 1987, though there's no indication he was ever charged.

    "The fact that Wilson is even eligible for parole is a travesty of justice," Sanders said. "(If) the governor was inclined to commute his sentence, he should have commuted it to life without parole so the victim’s family doesn’t have to live through another nightmare."

    The county's top prosecutor said he is supposed to meet with the parole board on Jan. 22.

    The parole board has three options when deciding on Wilson's case, according to the state's website.

    It can recommend Wilson be released on parole, set a specific number of months he must serve before further parole considerations, or decide he must serve out the remainder of his time in prison.

    https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...e/72203329007/
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