Lee County: Wade Wilson sentenced to death
Yesterday, following the jury's recommendations for death in June, the trial court sentenced Wilson to death on two counts of first-degree murder.
In June, a Lee County jury convicted Wade Wilson of two counts of first-degree murder for crimes that occurred in 2019. After a penalty phase, the jury recommended that Wilson be sentenced to death—voting 9-3 for one victim and 10-2 for the other in favor of death.
Wilson went viral during the penalty phase for his courtroom demeanor, which social media users called “smug” and “soulless.” He is also referenced as the “Deadpool killer” due to his facial tattoos and name.
Yesterday, the trial court sentenced Wilson to death on both counts.
In the Sentencing Order, the trial court found the following aggravating factors were proven beyond a reasonable doubt as to both murders and assigned the noted weight:
The murder was committed by a person who was previously convicted of a felony and under a sentence of community control or on felony probation at the time of the crime (great weight);
Wilson was previously or contemporaneously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person (great weight); and
The murders were especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel (great weight).
In addition, as to only one of the murders, the trial court found that the murder was a homicide committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification (great weight).
As to mitigation. Wilson did not submit any statutory mitigating circumstances other than several that fall within the statutory catch-all. According to the Sentencing Order, “[t]he jury found that no mitigating circumstances had been proven by a greater weight of the evidence.” As to non-statutory mitigation, the trial court found:
Wilson suffers from an undiagnosed mental health disorder that contributed to his behavioral problems (little weight);
Wilson confessed to law enforcement to do the right thing (little weight);
Wilson wanted to put one of the victims back with her family (little weight);
Wilson is loved by his adoptive parents and sisters (some weight);
Wilson felt abandoned by his biological parents (some weight);
Wilson’s mental illness started as a child (little weight);
Wilson was involuntarily committed when he was a teenager (some weight);
Wilson tried to reach out to his biological parents when he became an adult (little weight);
Wilson’s biological parents were young and did not try to reach out to establish a relationship (some weight); and
Wilson was a loving son before mental health disorders (little weight).
The court concluded that, “[u]nder the totality of the circumstances and evidence,” there is “no basis to override the jury’s verdict.” Accordingly, Wilson was sentenced to two death sentences.
The full Sentencing Order can be accessed here.
Just one more example when one allows breaching of the criminal justice system's vaunted, earlier protections against jury abuse when less than unanimous verdicts, the last great defense against arbitrary verdicts and judgments, is breached. Witness the same being played out against the Loran Cole pending execution. It is like leaving 10 scratch marks on a blackboard on the way to the ground.
God have mercy on all of us.
Rest in peace to Christine Melton and Diane Ruiz