Courts to get death penalty cases, appeals

Web posted July 11, 1999

By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN -- Second Circuit Solicitor Barbara Morgan will be juggling a handful of death penalty cases in the coming months, working to put two men on death row while trying to keep two others from leaving it.

A judge already has set Sept. 13 as the date for the capital murder trial of David Mark Hill, who is charged with killing three social workers in North Augusta in 1996.

As early as January, Ms. Morgan will start the capital murder trial of Arthur Hastings Wise, accused of killing four co-workers at R.E. Phelon Co. in 1997.

But the solicitor will also have to wrestle with appeals from two others who are trying to avoid execution:

Willie Hicks, who was sentenced to death in May 1996 for the robbery and murder of 73-year-old Andrew Hagan, who suffered 34 stab wounds and a beating on Dec. 29, 1993, in his own home. Mr. Hicks' appeal will be heard Dec. 6 in an Aiken County courtroom.

Donnie Council, who was sentenced to die in 1996 for the murder of 72-year-old Elizabeth Gatti. She was sexually assaulted, beaten, forced to drink a mixture of household cleaners and finally smothered to death by the duct tape wrapped around her head Oct. 9, 1992. A hearing has not been scheduled, but Ms. Morgan said she expects a judge to hear the appeal early next year.

Donald Zelenka with the Attorney General's Office will argue against both appeals with assistance from the solicitor's office, who tried the cases.

In yet another death row appeal, Circuit Judge Daniel Pieper is still mulling over a request for a new trial from convicted killer Jerry McWee. Evidence was presented in June, and a decision is expected any day.

Mr. McWee, a former Augusta police officer, was convicted of killing convenience store clerk John Perry on July 6, 1991, in the back room of the 19 Corner Store on South Carolina Highway 19 North. Mr. McWee is seeking a new trial based on ineffective counsel.

The most pressing case before Ms. Morgan is the September trial of Mr. Hill. The defendant is accused of walking into the North Augusta office of the Department of Social Services on Sept. 16, 1996, looking for the case worker involved in placing his children in foster care.

He shot that case worker, Jimmy Riddle, 52, and two others, Josie Curry, 35, and Michael Gregory, 30, the state contends.

The trial should last two or three weeks, possibly more, including weekends with a jury that will be sequestered. Judge Marc Westbrook plans to summon 350 people for jury selection.

In the Wise case, police say the suspect walked into R.E. Phelon Co. on Sept. 15, 1997, killing four of his co-workers and wounding three others during a shooting spree. He had been fired from the plant about two months earlier.

In deciding whether to seek the death penalty, Ms. Morgan said she first looks at whether the evidence can prove that aggravating circumstances contributed to the murder, a legal requirement for a capital murder charge.

``I also talk with law enforcement and the victim's family and kind of assess the case,'' she said.

An assessment of the evidence against William Ernest Downs, charged with sexually assaulting and strangling 6-year-old Keenan O'Mailia in April, prompted Ms. Morgan to seek the death penalty. Kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct were also added to the murder charge.

The Downs case is ``on the fast track,'' and should be heard in an Aiken County courtroom by spring 2000, Ms. Morgan said. The Supreme Court has recently assigned Judge Rodney Peeples to preside over the case. Attorneys Wallis Alves and Leon C. Banks will defend Mr. Downs.

After his South Carolina trial, jailers will ship Mr. Downs to Georgia, where they will ask a jury to send him to death row for a similar killing in 1991 involving 10-year-old James Porter of Augusta. Mr. Downs' arrest in the O'Mailia killing led to his confession in the Porter case, police said.

The solicitor's office will not seek the death penalty against three defendants awaiting trial in the slaying of Carl Ennis, owner of Southside Pawn and Gold on Owens Street, Ms. Morgan said.

Ae Khingratsaiphon, who is accused of being the gunman, will go on trial in that killing July 19. He faces life in prison.

Curtis Kesl, who has already pleaded guilty to his participation in the killing and received a 30-year-sentence, will testify against Mr. Khingratsaiphon and two other defendants, Kai Yang and James Vang.

Greg Rickabaugh covers crime for The Augusta Chronicle. He can be reached at (803) 279-6895 or scbureau@augustachronicle.com.