Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The former death row inmate's retrial was originally scheduled to begin in October, but a judge has not set the new date yet.
The re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe, whose previous conviction related to the murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. was vacated by the federal courts, has been delayed. Additional charges have been filed against the former Chantilly High School student. While the trial—initially set for Oct. 15—has been delayed, the judge did not set a new date. The new charges include first-degree murder, capital murder, two counts of drug distribution, and two charges of using a firearm in commission of a felony, according to Prince William County court records. Wolfe was convicted in 2002 of ordering Petrole’s 2001 murder, but the triggerman later recanted his story and testified on Wolfe’s behalf in federal court. Federal judges criticized how Prince …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Justin Wolfe's family talks about their reaction to the news that he will stand trial again for capital murder.
Justin Wolfe's family and supporters had high hopes that he would come home on Friday. Instead, a Prince William County Circuit Court judge ordered that Wolfe—whose murder conviction was vacated last year—be held without bond until he is retried in October. Family members cried quietly and held on to each other after the decision. "Justin has spent 11 years in solitary confinement for a crime he didn't commit, and it's time for him to come home," said his mother, Terri Steinberg, outside the courthouse. Lindsay Steinberg, who was four years old when her brother Justin Wolfe was incarcerated, said she was disappointed. "It's hard to see that he won't be coming home today, but I just hope that he will be home in time for my sixteenth …
Prince William County commonwealth's attorney Paul Ebert recused himself from the case, after a federal judge said the initial trial was filled with "hearsay and speculation."
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond Morrogh will act as special prosecutor when the state again tries Justin Wolfe, of Chantilly, for allegedly ordering the 2001 murder of Centreville's Daniel Petrole Jr. Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Mary Grace O'Brien confirmed Morrogh as the prosecutor Friday, a day after Prince William County prosecutors moved to recuse themselves from the case. "I thought it was appropriate for a special prosecutor," O'Brien said. Given the circumstances around the case, the move to appoint a special prosecutor was expected. Last year, a federal judge reprimanded Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Conway for their conduct at the previous trial. U.…
Wolfe was held without bail Friday after a hearing in Prince William County Circuit Court.
Former death row inmate Justin Wolfe will stand trial—again—in Prince William County Circuit Court this fall. Judge Mary Grace O'Brien denied the defense lawyers' motion to release Wolfe on bail immediately. A three-week-long trial was set to begin on Oct. 15. For more on the bail hearing and the defense and prosecution's arguments, click here. "This is a very difficult case," O'Brien said. "It's one I've given a great deal of thought to because it's an unusual one." A federal judge vacated Wolfe's conviction for the murder-for-hire in July 2011; an appeals court upheld that conviction in August. For more information on the decision, see: Justin Wolfe Held On Bail Until Retrial Click here for background information on the Justin Wolfe …
Monday, September 10, 2012
A Prince William County prosecutor indicated on Monday that his office will retry Justin Wolfe, a former death row inmate.
A Prince William County prosecutor on Monday indicated that his office would retry Justin Wolfe, a Chantilly man who spent over a decade on death row before his conviction was vacated. "It does need to be set for trial," Richard Conway, an assistant commonwealth's attorney, told Judge Mary Grace O'Brien at a hearing Monday in Prince William County Circuit Court. Wolfe will next appear in court on Friday, where his lawyers will make a motion to let him out on bail. The retrial date will also be set at Friday's hearing. "It's not what I hoped," Terri Steinberg, Wolfe's mother, said after the hearing. "I'm shocked, shocked." The news comes just one month after a federal appeals court confirmed the vacation of Wolfe's sentence. Both the …
Friday, September 7, 2012
Defense will ask courts to let Wolfe out on bail, pending the prosecution's decision to retry.
The Virginia Attorney General has decided not to appeal a federal appeals court's verdict that affirmed the vacation of the sentences and convictions against death row inmate Justin Michael Wolfe. The state had the option of appealing before the fourth circuit court or to the Supreme Court. Since they decided not to, Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert now has 120 days to decide whether to release or retry Wolfe. Wolfe is now on his way back to the Manassas jail, according to family members. The next step is for the defense to ask for bail. "I think we're still trying to digest whether or not this is real," said Terri Steinberg, Wolfe's mother. "We've been waiting for this for 11 years—over 11 years." "No one should …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court's decision to overturn a murder-for-hire conviction.
Justin Michael Wolfe learned Thursday that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court ruling that his convictions and sentences related to the death of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. should not stand, primarily because of the lack of disclosure of exculpatory evidence by the prosecutors. A Prince William County jury sent Wolfe to death row in 2002 for a murder-for-hire. Owen Merton Barber IV admitted to killing Petrole in 2001. Barber testified against Wolfe in a 2002 trial, but later recanted his testimony, saying prosecutors and his own defense attorney forced him to testify to escape the death penalty. Barber has stated in federal court that Wolfe had nothing to do with Petrole’s murder. Patch will update this story with …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Opposing sides debate whether information was improperly withheld.
A three-judge panel of U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond on Thursday listened to attorneys for opposing sides in a Virginia Death Row case in which a lower federal court vacated the sentences of Justin Michael Wolfe, of Chantilly. The state appealed the order of U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson that overturned a death sentence related to the murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr., of Centreville, in March 2001. Triggerman Owen Merton Barber IV testified against Wolfe during Wolfe’s 2002 trial and has since changed his story more than once—most recently proclaiming Wolfe's innocence to Judge Jackson. Estimates of when the 4th Circuit ruling may come range from a couple of weeks to several months. The court previously …
Thursday, September 8, 2011
After vacation of all convictions, Chantilly man awaits state appeal.
Justin Michael Wolfe left the cell that he has called home for the past nine years Wednesday after the Virginia State Department of Corrections released the Chantilly man from death row and placed him in the Sussex II State Prison across the street. Wolfe’s convictions for murder-for-hire, marijuana distribution and a gun charges related to the 2001 murder of Centreville's Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. all were vacated by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson earlier this year. Triggerman Owen Merton Barber IV, who testified in 2001 that Wolfe ordered the murder, told Jackson that Wolfe had nothing to do with the crime and that prosecutors – and even his own defense attorney – said he could only escape a capital trial by testifying against his …
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Former Chantilly High School student, on death row nearly a decade, could walk free.
Justin Michael Wolfe, whose 2002 murder-for-hire was previously vacated, remains on death row as the state appeals a judge’s order in the case, but he learned yesterday that if the order holds up he might walk free. A new order from U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson clarifies a previous order that vacated Wolfe’s conviction and sentence on the murder-for-hire. The new order states Wolfe’s “conviction is VACATED on all counts,” including a gun charge and marijuana distribution. For any of those charges, prosecutors must retry Wolfe or release him within 120 days. It’s unlikely either would actually occur within that time because a stay could be ordered by the federal courts while the state appeals the decision. Nonetheless, the …
Virginia Law
10:53 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2012
He isn't alone - http://www.kcsb.org/interviews/west-of-memphis-interview - When you hear Domion Echols story - from what I can tell not much difference then James Wolfe - We should all be concerned about this - This to can happen to you or a loved one - I am living it - not on Death Row - but, the Old Boy Network is powerful - If you aren't one of them - Watch your Back - for you and your family… more ›