Jurists Hear Appeal in Wisely Case

An attorney for convicted killer Willie Ray Wisely argued to the 4th District Court of Appeal on Thursday that jurors at his trial behaved improperly at the scene where Wisely’s stepfather was crushed to death under his own truck.

Wisely, who gained notoriety as a jailhouse lawyer and represented himself at his 1982 trial, was convicted of murder in the March 9, 1981, death of his stepfather, Robert E. Bray. Prosecutors claim that Wisely tampered with the hoist on the cab so it would fall on Bray while he was working beneath it.

Wisely, 37, is now serving a life without parole sentence at Folsom Prison.

His attorney, Nina Wilder of San Francisco, complained at his appeal hearing Thursday that when jurors were taken to the scene, they were only supposed to observe the traffic and watch a demonstration by an expert for the defense. But instead, she said, some of the jurors positioned themselves in the place where Bray was killed.

A standard courtroom rule prohibits jurors from conducting any experiments on their own. However, prosecutors argued to the court that what these jurors did in the presence of the judge did not violate the rule.