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 …
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 …
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 …
Dusty Smith
1:44 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Well, Owen won't be out for another 28 years, or something in that range. He received a 60-year sentence in 2002, with 22 years suspended. So by my math, that's another 28 years. more ›