Jurors never heard of accomplice letter in death row case

Apr 11, 2023, 9:27 AM

This image provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows David Wilson. Jurors who sentenced David Wilson to death for killing a man during a 2004 burglary in Alabama never heard about a letter allegedly written by an accomplice saying she was the one that beat the victim with a bat. A federal judge last month ordered the Alabama attorney’s general’s office to turn over a copy of the letter. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Sixteen years after David Phillip Wilson was sentenced to death for killing a man during a 2004 burglary, the state of Alabama turned over a letter allegedly written by an accomplice saying she was the one that beat the victim with a bat until he fell.

A federal judge last month ordered the Alabama attorney’s general’s office to turn over a copy of the letter, noting the jurors never got a chance to hear about it even though prosecutors possessed the letter before Wilson’s trial and believed it to be authentic. The judge said while it’s “plausible” Wilson might still have been convicted and sentenced to death, the letter must be turned over to determine its importance.

“The jury was not told that an accomplice of petitioner’s who admitted entering (the victim’s) home also claimed that she beat the victim with a baseball bat while he was alive,” U.S. District Keith Watkins wrote in the March 27 court order.

A portion of the letter was turned over to Wilson’s new attorney last month after a lengthy legal battle that unfolded over several years as they seek to win him a new trial. The Alabama attorney general’s office argued in court filings that Wilson knew about the letter’s contents since before his trial and that it did not exonerate him since Wilson told investigators he also hit the man and put an extension cord around his neck. Wilson’s new attorney argued prosecutors and the state actively hid potentially exculpatory evidence.

“For almost twenty years, since August 2004, the State of Alabama through its District Attorney for Houston County and its Attorney General has hidden, withheld, and actively obstructed the disclosure of a written confession by petitioner’s co-defendant,” Wilson’s lawyer, Bernard Harcourt, wrote in a court filing. The state gave Wilson’s attorney only one page of the letter that discussed the killing. Harcourt is asking the judge to force the state to turn over the remainder.

Wilson was convicted of capital murder for the 2004 death of Dewey Walker, 64, during a robbery and burglary. Walker was found dead in his home, after failing to show up for work. Investigators said Wilson confessed to being there to steal a computer and that after Walker discovered him, he admitting to hitting Walker with a bat and then putting an extension cord around his neck to try to get him to drop a knife. Three others were sentenced to between 23 and 25 years in prison for Walker’s killing. Wilson was the only one sentenced death after a jury recommended a death sentence by a 10-2 vote.

At issue in the case is a 2004 letter allegedly written by one of the three accomplices who said she was the one who began hitting the man with a bat. The writer identifies herself as Catherine Corley. Corley pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for Walker’s death.

According to court filings, the letter, in which she discusses the possibility of an insanity plea, was sent to another detainee at the Houston County Jail and that detainee provided the letter to an attorney, who then provided the letter to prosecutor Douglas Valeska.

“David slipped up behind Dewey and put an extension cord around his neck, Dewey would not fall. I did not know what to do so I grabbed the baseball bat & hit Dewey with it till he fell. David & I loaded up all we could find. … About one week later we got caught. I threw baseball bat in trash dumpster,” the letter states.

Corley, who is still serving her sentence, could not immediately be reached for comment and it was not immediately known if she has a lawyer to speak on her behalf.

Prosecutors are required to turn over exculpatory evidence, also known as Brady material, to criminal defendants.

Judge Watkins chided the prosecutors for their handling of the matter. He said Wilson’s trial counsel was given a series of police “offense reports” that described acquiring a letter where the writer claimed to have “hit Mr. Walker with a baseball bat until he fell.”

“At best, it appears the (accomplice) confession was disclosed to the defense in a manner designed to not attract attention to it, thus to put the defense at a trial and sentencing disadvantage. As the Supreme Court has made clear, Brady’s disclosure obligation is not readily discharged via gamesmanship,” the judge wrote in a footnote in the ruling.

The Alabama attorney general’s office argued state courts had already ruled there was no evidence suppression because, “Wilson knew – at the very least – that the letter stated that Corley had also struck Mr. Walker and that the State believed she was its author.” They also argued that Wilson had confessed to hitting and strangling Walker.

“The Corley letter is not exculpatory. Wilson gave a detailed confession to the investigators in which he admitted that he broke into Dewey Walker’s home, that he struck Walker with a baseball bat, that he choked Walker with a mouse cord until it broke, and that he continued to choke Walker for six more minutes with an extension cord,” state lawyers wrote in a December court filing.

The judge also wrote that while Wilson’s “own confession was damning and, as (the state attorney general) argues, supported the jury’s verdict that petitioner is guilty of capital murder” that it “is no stretch, however, to argue that a co-defendant’s admission of a possibly greater role in the murder… might be a material consideration in a jury’s deliberation on whether to recommend a death sentence.”

United States News

FILE - The Carnival cruise line ship Carnival Magic sits docked on April, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, ...

Associated Press

Coast Guard searching for man who fell from cruise ship off Florida coast

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday that it’s searching for a man who fell from a cruise ship off the coast of Florida. The 35-year-old passenger fell from the Carnival Magic ship about 185 miles (300 kilometers) east of Jacksonville on Monday, the service said in a statement. Aircraft and ships […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits

A federal court ruling cleared the way Tuesday for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s settlement of thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reversed a 2021 ruling that found bankruptcy court judges did not have the authority to shield from civil lawsuits members of […]

8 hours ago

This image provided by the Richland County Sheriff's Department shows Rick Chow, who has been charg...

Associated Press

South Carolina gas station owner charged with murder in 14-year-old’s shooting death

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina gas station owner was charged Monday with murder in the death of a 14-year-old boy whom he allegedly chased from the store and shot in the back, the sheriff said. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference that station owner Rick Chow incorrectly suspected Cyrus […]

8 hours ago

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School School Resource Officer Scot Peterson is shown in court...

Associated Press

Florida deputy faces trial for alleged failure to confront Parkland school shooter

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — In a prosecution believed to be a national first, a former Florida sheriff’s deputy is about to be tried on charges he failed to confront the gunman who murdered 14 students and three staff members at a Parkland high school five years ago. Jury selection begins Wednesday in the trial […]

8 hours ago

A 2023 Volvo C40 electric vehicle is displayed at a dealership, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Exeter, N...

Associated Press

The easiest way to get a $7,500 tax credit for an electric vehicle? Consider leasing.

DETROIT (AP) — Thanks to a boost from the government, leasing — not buying — is becoming the most affordable way to get your hands on an electric vehicle. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act provided a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 to use toward an EV. Under the rules, a dealer can apply […]

8 hours ago

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, wife of impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton, si...

Associated Press

Juror and spouse: Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton could vote in trial on husband’s impeachment

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — On the way to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton becoming a rising figure in the GOP, his wife, Angela, used to entertain crowds with a guitar and a song. “I’m a pistol-packin’ mama, and my husband sues Obama,” she sang at campaign events and Republican clubs in Texas. When it came […]

8 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.

Jurors never heard of accomplice letter in death row case