Killer's life depends on jury's vote

Web posted Wednesday, January 31, 2001

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - One juror could keep Arthur Hastings Wise off death row.

Whether any juror will vote to spare him a death sentence for killing four former co-workers at R.E. Phelon Co. plant could depend on what happens in court today.

Mr. Wise, 46, was convicted Monday of four counts of murder, three counts of assault with intent to kill, four counts of possession of a gun while committing a violent crime and burglary.

As the sentencing phase begins , the jury will be confronted with aggravating circumstances and mitigating circumstances - reasons to choose death or life in prison.

Second Circuit Solicitor Barbara R. Morgan has a mountain of emotional evidence she could use to argue for death.

The jury will likely hear the graphic details of how the victims died, the pain Mr. Wise caused the victims' families and the terror he created at the Phelon plant Sept. 15, 1997.

During closing arguments Monday, Ms. Morgan described Mr. Wise as an angry man who planned the workplace rampage and carried it out methodically with ``murder on his mind.'' The solicitor is expected to argue that Mr. Wise showed no mercy to his victims and therefore should receive no mercy from the jury.

From the defense, the jury could hear testimony of the killer's tough childhood, of his time on the street with no place to live and about the bank he robbed in 1979 out of financial desperation.

Jurors could even hear from Mr. Wise himself.

``He may (take the stand),'' said defense attorney Carl B. Grant, adding that trial strategy was still in the works.

Already, Mr. Wise's defense attorneys have offered jurors a reason for the rage that likely sparked the killings, suggesting Mr. Wise was a skilled worker denied promotions at the plant and shunned by other Phelon employees.

Also, a state psychiatrist suggested Saturday that Mr. Wise has a history of marijuana and alcohol abuse and suffers from a personality disorder that ``may bring him into conflict with others.'' The evidence was not presented to the jury, but it is testimony that could surface during the penalty phase.

Testimony will begin at 9 a.m. today and could last a few days.

The jury consists of seven women and five men from Beaufort County, with a judge having ruled that pretrial publicity made it impossible to pick a fair jury in Aiken County.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 648-1395.

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