Jurors decide death

Families, survivors express relief

Web posted Friday, February 2, 2001

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - Arthur Hastings Wise didn't want mercy, and he didn't get it.

Sheryl Wood's sister Margie Stewart (right) hugs Loretta Legg, an R.E. Phelon Co. employee, after Arthur Hastings Wise was sentenced to death. Jurors deliberated almost five hours Thursday before returning the verdict for slayings at the plant. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

Twelve jurors, some of them weeping, returned a death sentence Thursday against Mr. Wise for a workplace rampage at R.E. Phelon Co. in Aiken. Four were killed and three were wounded in the attack Sept. 15, 1997.

The convicted killer closed his eyes and remained stone faced during the announcement.

``I don't have much to say except that I did not wish to take advantage of the court as far as asking mercy,'' Mr. Wise said. ``It's a fair trial. I committed the crimes.''

The verdicts brought shouts of joy from survivors of the attack and relatives of the dead. They cried and held hands in court. Outside, they gathered in groups and hugged.

``Three years, four months and 17 days,'' said Robert Wise, a former Phelon employee who is not related to the defendant, referring to his long wait for justice.

``He got what he deserved,'' said shooting victim Stan Vance, a former Phelon security guard. ``That's what I wanted to hear - death. He didn't deserve to live.''

Jurors deliberated almost five hours, and former Phelon employee Bruce Mundy worried they were considering a life sentence.

``I was sweating,'' he said. ``Life just wouldn't have been justice. I mean, he killed my friends. I believe when the time comes, he'll pay dearly.''

Janet Cooper, sister-in-law of victim Charles Griffeth, said she felt relief.

Minutes after a jury returned four death sentences, Arthur Hastings Wise was given the chance to address the court. Here is what he said: ``Well, I've been pretty much quiet up until now. I don't have much to say except that I did not wish to take advantage of the court as far as asking mercy. ``It's a fair trial. I committed the crimes. Not once have I tried to evade my charges. As a matter of fact, from the very beginning - 40 months ago - I admitted to being at the scene of the crime, and I'm ready for my sentence.''

``We hated that it dragged out so long,'' she said, adding that other family members were too distraught to attend the trial.

Judge Cooper sentenced Mr. Wise, 46, to death four times for the murders of Sheryl Wood, David Moore, Leonard Filyaw and Mr. Griffeth. He also ordered 60 years in prison for the shootings of Stan Vance, Jerry Corley and John Mucha, all of whom survived. Concurrent jail time was given for burglary and possession of a gun during the commission of a violent crime.

The judge set April 3 as the execution date, but that will be delayed because Mr. Wise gets an automatic appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Defense attorneys Gregory Harlow and Carl B. Grant were crippled in their efforts to save their client from a death sentence when Mr. Wise ordered them Wednesday not to present witnesses on his behalf. The killer said he didn't want family or friends involved and didn't want to make his own plea to the jury.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Grant said he was prepared to call Mr. Wise's family and friends and members of the North Augusta church he once attended.

``There was no question we were hampered in this case by not being able to call those 13 witnesses. In this case, the jury did not get to know that man sitting in the jail suit,'' he said.

The defense attorneys were left with only closing arguments to make a case for life.

Mr. Harlow told jurors that his client offered no excuses and no plea of insanity. He asked the jury to spare his client from death row so others could learn from him.

``What causes a person to snap like this? ... Perhaps in the future, Mr. Wise may be studied,'' Mr. Harlow said.

Arthur Wise closes his eyes as the judge reads off the juries death penalty penalty. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

Taking a different approach, Mr. Grant asked jurors to use their consciences and not be swayed by the opinion of another juror. He asked if they could look themselves in the mirror or sleep at night if they voted against their consciences.

Mr. Grant argued for a life sentence, saying Mr. Wise still would die in prison. ``The only way he's going to get out is in a coffin,'' he said.

Finally, Mr. Grant asked for mercy, saying enough people had suffered already.

``In the midst of misery, you have the opportunity to choose mercy,'' he said. ``There's been enough killing. The question is when will the killing stop? When will the dying stop?''

The jury rejected the defense attorneys' arguments and agreed with 2nd Circuit Solicitor Barbara R. Morgan, who told jurors that Mr. Wise created the ``ultimate, horrible terrorist act'' and deserved the ultimate sentence.

``He didn't come to kill one or two,'' Ms. Morgan said. ``He came to maximize his hate.''

Ms. Morgan repeated the facts of the case, recalling how Mr. Wise returned to the plant after being fired. Mr. Wise had worked as a machine operator at Phelon, a company that manufactures ignitions for lawn equipment. He was fired in July 1997 after a confrontation with a supervisor.

Mr. Wise returned to the plant and shot a security guard before killing Mr. Griffeth, the human resources director who had fired him. He later walked to the tool and die area, where he fatally shot Mr. Moore and Mr. Filyaw, who worked in jobs Mr. Wise wanted.

Ms. Woods was shot three times in the quality assurance division.

Mr. Wise created terror for dozens of employees as they prepared for their shift change that day, Ms. Morgan said.

``Their innocence and safety at the workplace were shattered,'' she said. ``The facts of what happened in a small manufacturing plant in the county of Aiken demand the ultimate penalty.''

The verdicts wrapped up a two-week trial that began in Beaufort, S.C., where jury selection was held. Judge Cooper chose jurors there because of widespread publicity given the case in Aiken County.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 648-1395.

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