Countywide : Court Salutes Killer, Upholds Conviction

The 4th District Court of Appeal praised jailhouse lawyer Willie Wisely’s courtroom abilities, but in a decision made public Monday upheld his conviction for the murder of his stepfather.

Wisely, who represented himself at his trial, is now serving a life-without-parole sentence at Folson State Prison for the March 9, 1981, murder of Robert Bray, who was crushed beneath the cab of his semi in Huntington Beach.

“Wisely’s performance was surprisingly good when compared to practicing attorneys, let alone other pro per (defendants),” wrote Justice Edward J. Wallin in the unanimous opinion. But Wallin added: “Substantial evidence supports the verdict.”

Wisely, now 37, made a name for himself at the Orange County Jail during his six years there before he was finally sentenced. He won court approval to set up his own law facility in a double cell, equipped with a computer and a small law library. His prolific legal efforts were twofold: work on his own case, and numerous motions, both in federal and state courts, regarding conditions at the jail. He eventually won a $5,000 judgment against Sheriff Brad Gates, even though the court struck down most of his contentions.

But Wisely’s greatest coup may have come on Christmas Eve, 1986, when he married the legal clerk assigned to him, Gail Harrington. She surreptitiously slipped a minister into the attorney/bonds room with her for a visit with him.

Harrington, who is working toward a law degree, has moved to Folsom to be near her husband. She is still actively involved in his legal appeals. She vowed that she would continue to work for Wisely’s release even if they ever divorced because she believes in his innocence.

But prosecutors were jubilant about Monday’s appellate court decision.

“Thank God,” said Assistant Dist. Atty. Edgar A. Freeman, who prosecuted Wisely. “Wisely’s had the most exhaustive hearings anyone could have. I think this means he’s going to have to serve his prison term.”

Significant to prosecutors was the appellate court’s upholding of the jury finding of “lying in wait” in the killing. That automatically elevated Wisely’s 25-year-to-life sentence to one of life without parole.

A co-defendant testified that Wisely slipped around the back of the truck just before it fell on Bray.

Justice Wallin called it “the classic picture of a lying-in-wait killing. Wisely waited for an opportune time to act, sneaked up on Bray, caught him by surprise, and immediately killed him with the truck cab.”

Wisely contended at the trial that the cab fell on Bray by accident and that he was not even present.

The jurors who convicted Wisely also voted to send him to the gas chamber for his stepfather’s murder. But the late Judge Kenneth E. Lae ordered a new penalty phase, based on new rulings by the state Supreme Court, led then by Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. During the years of legal wrangling that followed, prosecutors decided to drop their pursuit of the death penalty.

In one of the issues before the 4th District Court of Appeal, Wisely contends that harassment at the jail, which cost him sleep and impaired his ability to prepare for trial, interfered with his defense.

But Justice Wallin disagreed.

“A defendant is not entitled to a perfect defense, only a reasonably competent one,” Justice Wallin stated. “Numerous trial attorneys have experienced the same problems Wisely did: lack of eight hours of sleep, interruptions during the night, inadequate time for meals, stress and distractions during the trial. . . . His living conditions had no demonstrable effect upon his performance (as his own attorney) at trial.”