Despite Vacated Conviction, Death Row Inmate May Still Serve Decades

Several steps remain for Justin Michael Wolfe, the death row inmate , before he would be able to consider murder-for-hire charges behind him. And even if Wolfe walks away from those charges – a likely appeal and potential re-trial are anticipated related to the 2001 murder of Centreville's Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. – 20 years remain on his sentence for dealing marijuana.

The Virginia Attorney General has 30 days from the date of U.S. District to notify the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals whether the state will appeal the case. If the state appeals, then the losing side at the 4th Circuit would have the opportunity to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the state chooses not to appeal, the case would be remanded back to the Virginia Supreme Court, which could send the case back to Prince William prosecutors, who may consider trying Wolfe again. 

Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert has not responded to requests for comment, but has told other media outlets that he likely would put Wolfe on trial again. Prosecutor will probably have to approach the case differently, considering Ebert told the judge at Barber’s 200 sentencing that Wolfe very likely would not have been convicted without Barber’s testimony. The triggerman, Owen Merton Barber IV– who has clearly perjured himself at some point in the case by affirming contradicting stories – probably would not be considered a credible witness. 

Wolfe’s family remains optimistic, while defense attorneys are divided about his prospects of getting out of jail. 

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Terri Steinberg, Wolfe’s mother.

Wolfe landed on death row after a Prince William County jury convicted and sentenced him to death. During the trial, Barber, who admits killing Petrole, testified that Wolfe ordered the murder to escape a drug debt. Wolfe has maintained his innocence, and the triggerman, whose story has change several times, told a federal court in November that

The same jury also sentenced Wolfe to 30 years in prison for distribution of more than five pounds of marijuana and three years for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, because Barber had used a gun in the murder. 

Prosecutors remain adamant that Wolfe was involved, despite Barber’s most recent testimony, citing a series of phone calls between Wolfe and Barber on the night of the murder.

Whatever ultimately happens with murder conviction, Wolfe may well stay in prison for two more decades on the drug charges.

“Sentencing is not an appellate issue for a jury trial,” said Marvin Miller, an Alexandria-based defense attorney who represented Wolfe during post-trial hearings and at the Virginia Supreme Court. When asked if Wolfe has much chance of having that sentence changed in the courts, Miller said no.

But not everyone agrees, and Wolfe’s family remains hopeful that some legal avenue remains.

“We are concerned about the drug charges and the gun charge,” said Steinberg, pointing out that if the murder-for-hire sentence and conviction are vacated then it makes little sense for Wolfe to have been convicted because Barber used a gun. “The gun charge should go away.”

Wolfe has already served enough time to satisfy the gun charge – he’s been held in jail or on death row for more than 10 years – but Steinberg said her son would still like to see that crime removed from his record. But the larger focus remains first on the death sentence and then on the drug conviction.

“Yes, he is guilty of selling marijuana, but no one has ever received 30 years for a first-time offense,” Steinberg said. “There are a lot of kids out there who sold marijuana and never spent a minute in jail.”

Several people who received reduced sentences or no sentences at all for testifying against her son, but Steinberg seems even more puzzled by the sentences for people who were supplying Petrole with marijuana from Seattle. People two and three tiers above Wolfe in the drug hierarchy served just two or three years and were released.

“And none of them served their time in solitary confinement,” Steinberg said, pointing to the isolation her son has experienced. She also said that Wolfe did not receive an opportunity to cooperate with authorities because he was a murder suspect. Wolfe confessed to all of the drug charges during his trial and the jury gave him the maximum sentence. “It is a concern and it has been from the beginning,” Steinberg said about the drug conviction.

Deirdre Enright, an attorney with the Innocence Project’s state chapter based at the University of Virginia, said she believes the jury was tainted with the notion that Wolfe ordered Petrole’s murder – a notion prosecutors and many of Petrole’s friends maintain is true, suggesting newly disclosed information is meaningless. 

“A jury sentenced him for a murder on the drugs,” Enright said. “Justin Wolfe got 30 years on the drugs, not because of the drugs, but because of the murder.”

Enright and Matthew Engle, also of the Innocence Project at UVA, have worked closely with the King & Spalding corporate law firm that took Wolfe’s case on a pro bono basis. Enright said she’s still examining options and feels there must be some legal remedy for the drug charges, if the vacation of the murder-for-hire conviction holds.

 “I think if this can’t be corrected, something’s horribly wrong with our system,” she said.

Despite disagreeing that Wolfe may have a way to reduce the marijuana charges, Miller agrees that the jury was tainted and said he would have handled the case differently.

“Had the lawyer known what he was doing, the morning of the trial he would have pled guilty to the marijuana charges,” Miller said, adding that such a maneuver may have helped keep a considerably amount of testimony about the drugs out of trial. Much of the drug testimony centered on Petrole’s deals, not Wolfe’s. 

“I think a lot of that could have been excluded,” Miller said. “That’s my opinion.”

DEALS FOR DEALERS

The following are examples of sentences for marijuana dealers in the conspiracy uncovered following Petrole’s death. Names have been withheld because the case has been resolved and time has been served. 

Buyer – One of the buyers of the marijuana sold by Petrole and his business partner (about same level as Wolfe at the time of the murder) had counts pending for conspiracy to distribute more than 20 kilograms of marijuana and received a 21-month sentence and $100 fine.

Supplier – The person who served as a go between/business partner to Petrole’s Seattle connection received a 5-year sentence that was later reduced to 2 years under an agreement sealed by the court.

Supplier’s supplier – The person identified as Petrole’s Seattle supplier, in partnership with the person immediately above, received a 37-month sentence and $100 fine.