Carrie Blackmore Smith

csmith@enquirer.com

Death row case has grabbed attention of the Vatican%2C Amnesty International%2C American Bar Association

Pooley%27s family%2C friends have waited for justice for 26 years

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Deborah Pooley hadn't a clue the horror that awaited her when she parked her car outside her Covington apartment the night of May 29, 1987.

At 36, she was set on making a fresh start after a few years in Miami, Florida, had a boyfriend, a manager's position at Barleycorn's Yacht Club and plans to care for her parents in Hamilton, as they grew older.

Instead, her life would come to a grisly end, and her death would lead Kentucky into a fierce debate over justice, the state's death penalty and who should die by it.

For 26 years Gregory L. Wilson has sat on death row for kidnapping, raping and murdering Pooley, assisted by his then-girlfriend Brenda Humphrey, who is serving a life sentence with a chance at parole in 2017.

But now, a new twist may change what is written in history, and add fuel to the ongoing debate over capital punishment, currently on hold in the Bluegrass State because of legal challenges by Wilson and others.

The Supreme Court of Kentucky has agreed to take another look at the case to determine whether Wilson had inadequate representation more than a quarter century ago, and if a full review of DNA evidence should be conducted.

They are scheduled to hear oral arguments on Oct. 16.

Wilson's attorneys, some of the leading public defenders in the state, argue Wilson didn't get the chance to prove he didn't kill Pooley or rape her. Someone else, they suggest, has gotten away with murder for a quarter century.

Attorneys argue Wilson never got fair shot

Depending on whom you ask, Wilson's initial conviction was either solid or a "charade," as one federal judge put it, and with the filing of this case, Wilson's attorneys are asking the Supreme Court of Kentucky to decide, said Michael J. Zydney Mannheimer, a professor of law at Northern Kentucky University.

Depending on the outcome, it could spell another appeal for Wilson, Mannheimer said, and possibly his eventual exoneration of the murder and rape charges.

"If everything is true about what his trial council did ... it would strengthen the (Kentucky court) system to give Mr. Wilson a new trial," said Mannheimer, who served as a co-chair for the American Bar Association's Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment Team, and "weakens the case for executing him."

On that night in 1987, Pooley stepped out of her car and was approached by Wilson and Humphrey, according to the facts established at trial. They intended to rob her, forcing Pooley back into her car at knifepoint.

Humphrey testified that Wilson raped Pooley in the backseat as Humphrey drove. Wilson then bound Pooley's arms with a lamp cord and strangled her to death before they drove across the Indiana line and dumped her naked body in a wooded area. The couple used Pooley's credit cards to go on a shopping spree, where they bought watches and shoes.

Wilson's lawyers, led by Louisville's chief public defender Daniel Goyette, wrote in a brief to the court that Wilson was "represented by attorneys who did nothing to prepare for trial."

He points to reviews by a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge and the American Bar Association reported the trial court sought representation for Wilson by hanging a sign on the courtroom door that read "PLEASE HELP. DESPERATE. THIS CASE CANNOT BE CONTINUED AGAIN."

Ultimately, one of Wilson's attorneys had never tried a felony and the other was a semi-retired lawyer who volunteered as lead counsel for free, 'though he had no office, no staff, no copy machine and no law books,' " according to the ABA review.

Wilson's legal team neglected to cross examine the "jailhouse snitch," who claimed Wilson confessed to the murder and then got special treatment, Goyette wrote. Nor did they call co-defendant Brenda Humphrey's sister to the stand, though it was believed Humphrey confessed to her sister that she had killed Pooley herself.

A full review of the available DNA evidence could further prove that Wilson did not rape or murder Pooley, argues Goyette, who did not return a call from The Enquirer.

Attorneys for the state:Wilson has had plenty of chances

Lawyers for the Kentucky Attorney General's Office will argue against Wilson to the Supreme Court and say Wilson has had ample and equitable opportunity to challenge the jury's verdict 26 years ago.

"The Pooley family has waited for justice for Debbie while Wilson pursued multiple post conviction and civil remedies," Attorney General Jack Conway wrote in Commonwealth's brief, adding later that "Wilson only seeks to muddy the waters in this case."

Conway and Assistant Attorney General Heather Fryman argue that Wilson – who had previous rape convictions in Ohio – has done everything possible to delay his death, including claiming he is mentally deficient and then reversing his claim. Conway also accuses Wilson of using stall tactics.

DNA evidence, even if it does not belong to Wilson, will not definitively prove whether Wilson is guilty or innocent 26 years later, Conway argues.

"The overwhelming evidence of Wilson's guilt was not scientific," Commonwealth's attorneys wrote, noting testimony by Humphrey and his cell mate, items Wilson possessed that had been bought with Pooley's credit cards and more.

"Wilson raped and killed Debbie Pooley because he wanted to rob someone and she was in the right place at the right time," the legal brief concludes.

The AG's office declined a request to discuss the case, as "it would be inappropriate ... to comment on ongoing litigation," said office spokesman Daniel Kemp.

Attempts to reach Pooley's family were unsuccessful.

Legal expert: Wilson case symbolic of death row debate

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments on Oct. 16, adding another chapter to the case, which has become one of the most pivotal death penalty cases in Kentucky history.

Mannheimer finds this case an example of a classic problem in death penalty cases across the United States.

"We put more resources into the back end of the process than into the front end," Mannheimer said. "Now 26-27 years later, we are still litigating this. It would be a lot better if we had competent attorneys at the front end."

Kentucky could do this by setting higher standards for attorneys who defend someone facing the death penalty, said Mannheimer, who notes that the bar is higher today than it was in the late 80s.

But questions, like some of those presented in this case, are indicative as to why the death penalty is so controversial right now in Kentucky, Mannheimer said.