Thursday, January 3, 2013
An appeals court has denied a request to vacate an order for Wolfe's release, but has granted a stay that blocked him from leaving prison.
UPDATE (Thursday, 5:28 p.m.) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit today denied prosecutors' request to vacate an order for the release of former death row inmate Justin Wolfe—but granted a stay that blocked Wolfe from leaving prison at 5 p.m. Thursday. The court will hear arguments from the state later this month. ----- UPDATE (Thursday, 2:40 p.m.) The U.S. District Court and the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals have denied the Commonwealth's appeals regarding Justin Wolfe. Without intervention fromm the U.S. Supreme Court, Wolfe is expected to be released at 5 p.m. today (Thursday, Jan. 3). ---- Justin Michael Wolfe, a one-time death row inmate whose conviction related to the murder of Centreville's Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Federal judge: ‘bungled prosecution’ has deprived defendant of his right to a fair trial.
A Christmas Eve ruling by a federal judge could make the re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe in the March 2001 murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. very difficult if not impossible. U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson, who previously vacated Wolfe’s 2002 conviction, has ordered Wolfe’s release and barred the state from using any testimony, past or present, from the man who admittedly killed Petrole. Jackson ruled that Wolfe must be released within 10 days, but the state is able to appeal the decision. Owen Merton Barber IV testified at Wolfe’s 2002 trial that he killed Petrole at Wolfe's request. Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert told Barber’s sentencing judge that if not for his testimony Wolfe would not …
Friday, December 14, 2012
A federal judge must first consider whether the state has complied with his previous orders before he decides whether to grant relief to Justin Wolfe.
Attorneys for Justin Michael Wolfe argued during a hearing in federal court Thursday that a Sept. 11, 2012, confrontation between the original Prince William prosecutors and a key witness has so tainted the case that Wolfe cannot get a fair trial related to the March 15, 2001, murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. The same federal court previously vacated Wolfe’s conviction for ordering Petrole’s murder, based in part on admitted triggerman Owen Merton Barber IV’s testimony in November 2010 that Wolfe was not involved. The case was remanded back to Prince William prosecutors, who withdrew from the case a day after hauling Barber into the assistant warden’s office and explaining he could still face capital punishment during a meeting recorded…
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Prosecutors reportedly threaten triggerman and are ordered to appear Thursday in Norfolk to show cause why Chantilly man should not be released.
A federal judge has ordered Virginia prosecutors to appear in court Thursday to discuss the re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe and to explain why the original prosecutors are alleged to have pressured the triggerman in the case to testify on their behalf. Wolfe spent nearly a decade on death row before Judge Raymond A. Jackson vacated convictions related to the March 15, 2001 murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the decision, the state was given 120 days to re-try or release Wolfe. A trial is set for January in Prince William County Circuit Court, so it’s unclear if the progress toward the trial concerned Jackson, who appeared more concerned about a visit paid by Prince William …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Transcripts of witness who recently died can be used, but defendant’s testimony excluded.
In a lengthy pre-trial hearing Tuesday, Judge Mary Grace O’Brien sorted through what would be admissible in the re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe for the murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. Owen Merton Barber IV testified against Wolfe at trial, but most recently told a federal judge and prosecutors that Wolfe was not involved. That judge threw out Wolfe’s conviction for the murder as well as a drug-distribution conviction. Now a Fairfax County prosecutor has stepped in to re-try Wolfe in the Prince William Circuit Court and the defense has balked at the notion of using testimony from Wolfe’s first trial—where the federal courts found prosecutors intentionally withheld information that could have helped Wolfe’s defense. The more curious …
Bob
7:38 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
So what was Owen Barber's motive for killing Danny Petrole if Justin Wolfe is removed from the mix? more ›