Powell murder trial begins Monday - Ebert to push death sentence

MANASSAS, Five days after being accused of fatally stabbing a Yorkshire girl and attacking her sister, Paul Warner Powell told a Prince William police detective he expected to "ride the lighting", meaning, receive the death penalty.
Prince William County prosecutors will work to see that Powell's prediction comes true when the 22-year-old man's capital murder trial begins Monday in Prince William Circuit Court. The trial is expected to last one week.
The family of the victims supports the death penalty for Powell, charged with the brutal Jan. 29, 1999, killing of 16-year-old Stacie Lynn Reed and sexual assault of her younger sister at the girls' home on McLean Street.
Kristie Reed, who was 14 at the time and was attending Parkside Middle School, survived the attack. Her throat was slashed and her abdomen cut and she was treated at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Stacie Reed was a freshman at Osbourn Park High School. Police suspect that Powell was angry at her because she had begun dating a black youth.
The Prince William Sheriff's Office, which provides security at the courthouse, will take extra precautions during the trial. Powell has threatened to kill jail guards and at one point was able to unlock his cell door at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail, according to jail records.
Powell "definitely comes to court with an attitude" and appears to have "total lack of respect" for law enforcement officers and the judicial system, said Prince William County Sheriff E. Lee Stoffregen.
Powell will be escorted by more than the usual number of sheriff's deputies as he is transported between the jail and courthouse.
If Powell is cooperative, he won't be restrained, Stoffregen said. But if he acts inappropriately, deputies have various avenues of restraining any inmate who acts unruly, the sheriff said.
"We are prepared to handle, we think, any situation that might arise in the courtroom, " Stoffregen said. "We do have access to numerous things that we can do to make sure that he is cooperative with us ... that hopefully we don't have to use."
Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney James Willett will prosecute the case.
Ebert will attempt to show the jury that the case has two factors that warrant the death penalty, the vile nature of the crime and Powell's future danger to society. If jurors convict Powell of capital murder, they must find at least one of those factors to sentence him to death.
Powell appeared in Circuit Court this week with long hair and appeared much heavier than he did in photos released when he was arrested Jan. 30, 1999.
In a February 1999 interview with Prince William police Sgt. Richard Leonard, who was then a detective, Powell made derogatory comments about blacks and women. The man who had known Stacie Reed for several years said he'd prefer a death sentence to life in prison if convicted, according to Prince William Circuit Court records.
"Oh, I'm getting death, " Powell told Leonard.
Powell also said he admired Adolf Hitler and wished he could have been part of "Hitler's army."
Powell had lived in the Fredericksburg and Manassas areas, at one time living with his mother on Sandalwood Drive near Georgetown South.
Powell is represented by Ronald W. Fahy and Daniel J. Morissette, Manassas attorneys who were appointed to his case. Both lawyers have experience defending men charged with capital murder.
The defense had a doctor evaluate Powell's mental state for evidence that might be used for the sentencing phase of the trial.
But Powell would not cooperate with another doctor hired by the commonwealth, according to court records. Because of that, Ebert said he will ask the judge to not allow psychiatric evidence.
The jury pool for a typical felony trial is about 25 people. For a capital murder trial such as Powell's, the selection pool is larger. In Powell's case, attorneys will have nearly 40 potential jurors to choose from.

Questions and answers about Paul Warner Powell's capital murder trial, which begins Monday:
Q: Powell is charged with capital murder. What is the difference between first-degree murder and capital murder?
A: Virginia law defines first-degree murder as the unlawful, premeditated killing of another with malice and without provocation. Capital murder is defined as the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of another in commission of certain crimes. Those crimes include abduction with intent to defile, robbery, attempted robbery, rape or attempted rape.
Killing for hire or killing a police officer are also capital crimes.
Q: Why is Powell charged with capital murder?
A: The capital murder indictment against Powell states that he murdered Stacie Reed in commission of robbery and/or attempted robbery and/or during commission of or subsequent to rape and/or attempted rape and/or forcible sodomy and/or attempted forcible sodomy.
Q: Does Powell face the death penalty?
A: Yes. If the jury convicts him of capital murder, jurors will decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison.
Q: What other charges does the defendant face?
A: In addition to capital murder, Powell was indicted on charges of grand larceny, abduction, attempted capital murder, rape, robbery, attempted robbery and three counts of use or display of a firearm in commission of a felony.
Q: Will the trial be videotaped or photographed by news media?
A: No. Although reporters will be in the courtroom during the trial, Virginia law does not allow cameras in the courtroom if defendants are charged with sexual offenses. One of the charges Powell faces is rape.
Q: Who might testify for the prosecution?
A: The Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney's Office subpoenaed doctors, jail officials, medical examiners and 20 law enforcement officers. Prosecutors also subpoenaed a victim, Kristie Reed, and her mother, Lorraine Reed Culver.