Online petition, letters to judge seek to spare Wade Wilson from capital punishment

Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
·2 min read
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An online petition that seeks to spare the convicted killer of two Cape Coral women from the death penalty garnered more than 6,700 signatures in support by Monday afternoon.

A jury recommended on June 25 in 9-3 and 10-2 votes for each of the victims that Wade Wilson, 30, receive the death penalty. The same jury convicted him June 12 of the slayings of Melton, 35, and Ruiz, 43, and other charges linked to the crimes.

Wilson's sentencing is set for July 23. Court records revealed Thursday that at least three citizens sent letters to Lee Circuit Judge Nicholas Thompson asking that Wilson not be sentenced to death.

Thompson dismissed the three letters, saying the communications were made "outside the presence of the parties concerning a pending or impending matter."

The online petition, created June 29 through Change.org, is asking that the court sentence him to life in prison, giving him the ability to "rethink his actions." Christina Martin, spokesperson for the platform, said the petition originated in the United Kingdom.

Defense attorney Lee Hollander on July 3 filed a motion requesting a new trial, says the court erred about a Florida state statute that allowed a jury recommend death if at least eight jurors voted in favor. Before the new statute took effect, a jury's death recommendation required jurors' unanimous vote.

According to the motion, the 10-2 and 9-3 votes would not have ended in death recommendations under the prior statute.

The motion further says the court, presided by Thompson, failed to provide Wilson with separate jury trials for the different charges and prove Wilson possessed Melton's car without her consent before she died.

Wilson has asked for either a new trial or a judgment of acquittal on the murder, burglary and grand theft charges. Thompson had not ruled on that motion by Monday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Online petition says death penalty not solution for Wade Wilson