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In separate trials, juries sentenced Wilson and Grant Charboneau to death for their roles in the murder plot. But prosecutors have had trouble making the convictions stick. In 1996, the state Supreme Court threw out the two death sentences because the trial judge improperly admitted evidence. Retrials on the murder charges are scheduled for later this year. Meanwhile, Wilson is trying to get his lesser convictions--kidnapping, assault and abuse of a corpse--overturned by arguing that his legal defense was inadequate. In a legal argument filed in late February, Wilson's new attorneys claim Steele lacked the experience required to represent clients in death penalty cases. Under state statute, all lawyers appointed to represent indigent clients in death penalty trials must, among other things, have five years' experience trying major felonies and must provide the names of judges and prominent criminal lawyers who will vouch for their abilities. According to court filings, Steele fails on both counts. She was admitted to the bar in 1987, barely five years before being appointed to represent Wilson, and spent her first year handling misdemeanors, not major felonies, according to Wilson's appeals attorneys, William David Falls and Richard L. Wolf. In addition, after she married Gable, she lost her job and temporarily waited tables in a Salem restaurant. Furthermore Wolf and Falls say they contacted all but one of her references, and none would vouch for her. "All of the lawyers on her list held the opinion that she was either not qualified for appointment to a capital case, or they did not know her well enough to make that judgment," Falls and Wolf argue. Steele, who divorced Gable late last year, says Falls and Wolf are mistaken. "I did follow the state guidelines and I did not list anybody as a reference that I didn't obtain their permission first," Steele told WW. Ann Christian, the head of the state Indigent Defense Services, says her office may look into the matter but not until after Wilson's retrial. --Maureen O'Hagan Correction:
In last week's cover story ("Micro Blues," WW, April 8, 1998), the sentence on page 31 reading "The company has used its clout to 'encourage' beer distributors to carry any non-Anheuser-Busch beers on their trucks" should have said "not to carry." Also, in the charts on page 27, the sales figures for Full Sail and BridgePort for the years 1996 and 1997 have been reversed. WW regrets the errors. |
