Powell conviction overturned

Paul Warner Powell, the Manassas man on death row for a brutal attack on two Yorkshire teens that left one dead, no longer faces the death penalty following a state Supreme Court ruling overturning his capital murder conviction.
The court ruled Friday that Powell should get a new trial on a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a maximum life in prison.
The court upheld three life sentences for the abduction, rape and attempted capital murder Powell committed during the attack on the girls.
Additionally, the court decided that the Prince William jury that convicted Powell in May should have been given forms more clearly explaining that he could be sentenced to life in prison — a ruling that will affect future capital murder trials in Virginia.
The court’s opinion prompted Prince William Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert to express frustration at the way prosecutors must “jump through hoops” to seek the death penalty against criminals who commit horrendous acts.
Ebert has called on the Virginia General Assembly to change Virginia’s capital murder law so that a criminal who commits a vile crime or is a future danger could be eligible for capital punishment.
“The opinion shows how ridiculous the capital punishment law is if somebody can commit a crime like this and not be eligible for capital murder,” Ebert said.
Powell, 23, attacked Stacie and Kristie Reed on Jan. 29, 1999, at their home near Manassas.
Powell, who called himself a white supremacist, was an acquaintance of Stacie, 16. He was angry because she had been dating a black youth.
He stabbed her three times, then waited in the home for Kristie, then 14, to arrive from school.
Powell sexually assaulted Kristie, strangled her, slashed her throat and stabbed her in the stomach. She survived and testified against Powell during his trial last May. Stacie died in the attack.
Under Virginia law, a capital murder charge can be brought when a defendant commits murder during the commission of a violent crime such as robbery or rape.
The Supreme Court ruled that Ebert improperly amended the capital murder indictment against Powell from murder in the commission of robbery to an indictment adding other crimes, such as rape or sodomy.
The court also addressed the fact that Powell’s capital murder conviction was based on the murder of one girl and the sexual assault of another.
The court ruled that the murder of Stacie Reed followed by the rape of her sister did not constitute capital murder.
Prosecutors, the court said, were limited by law to proving that the murder took place during or prior to the assault on Kristie.
“The evidence was insufficient to support Powell’s conviction for capital murder as charged in the amended indictment,” the court ruled.
During his trial, Powell was acquitted of robbery, attempted robbery and three counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.
On a sentencing question, the court said an issue raised by Powell’s lawyers is “critical to the proper prosecution of capital murder cases and will be instructive to future capital murder trials.”
Circuit Court Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr. should have allowed jury verdict forms more clearly stating that the jury can impose life — or life plus a $100,000 fine — even if it found that Powell was a candidate for the death sentence, the court said.
Lorraine Reed Culver, the mother of the victims, will want to talk to Ebert before she discusses the Supreme Court ruling, said Dan Lawray, a spokesman for the family.
“This is quite devastating for them,” Lawray said of the family.
Ebert said he plans to prosecute Powell on first-degree murder, but will talk with the Reed family first.
At Powell’s August sentencing hearing in Prince William, jury foreperson Jennifer Melanie Day testified that she did not understand the jury’s instructions and felt obligated to sentence Powell to death.
The Supreme Court, however, agreed with the trial judge that her testimony was tainted because she had started a relationship with Powell after the trial.
Late last year, Powell told his attorneys he did not want to pursue appeals, but in November changed his mind. Defense attorney Daniel J. Morissette could not be reached Friday for comment.
Powell is being held at the Sussex I State Prison in Sussex County.