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| FIRST ON WGIL: Sheley Still Wants to Plead Guilty; New Phone Survey Conducted for Change of Venue Request |
FIRST REPORTED 6:00am 11/3/09 The discussion a Knox County Judge ordered attorneys for accused spree killer Nicholas Sheley to have with their client about his desire to plead guilty has apparently taken place, but those attorneys are still moving forward with their request to move his trial out of Knox County.
Documents filed last Thursday in Knox County Circuit Court indicate 30-year old Nicholas Sheley still intends to plead guilty to the dozen-and-a-half felony counts against him connected to the death in June of last year of 65-year old Ronald Randall.
Sheley told Judge James Stewart in late-September during a hearing he wanted to make the plea, at which time he ordered attorneys Jeremy Karlin, Jim Harrell, and John Hanlon to have the discussion with their client within 30-days, and file a letter with the court indicating that the discussion took place and whether or not that's still Sheley's intention.
The notice filed doesn't specifically say the discussion actually happened -- just that the intent to plead guilty remains the same.
Also Thursday, the defense team filed a new affidavit in support of a change of venue.
The filing, written by Karlin, continues to place the media in blame for their client not being able to get a fair trial in Knox County, saying, "Without let up, every conceivable media outlet with the potential of influencing the potential jury pool in Knox County has contributed to the problem."
Karlin also cites more telephone surveying done in the case that he claims indicates most prospective jurors believe Sheley is guilty.
Both the change of venue, and Sheley's intent to plead guilty, are expected to be discussed at a hearing scheduled for Friday morning at 9:30.
(WGIL News File Photo) |
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| 11 03 09 by Newsroom |
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