Trial postponed

Prince William Circuit Court Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr. postponed Paul Warner Powell's second trial for capital murder by three months Wednesday to allow his defense to introduce an expert witness.

Powell, 24, formerly of the Manassas and Fredericksburg areas, is charged for the second time with the January 1999 murder of a 16-year-old Yorkshire teen and was convicted in May 2000 of raping and stabbing her 14-year-old sister.

As defense attorneys Mark B. Williams and Carroll A. Weimer Jr. discussed possible dates with the prosecution, Powell slouched in his chair and mumbled dates with the attorneys. Powell's new trial is scheduled for Jan. 13-15, 2003.
'... or whatever days thereafter are necessary,' Whisenant said.

Powell's trial previously had been set for October.
Upon his initial conviction, Powell was sentenced to death and three terms of life imprisonment for the murder of Stacie Reed and the rape and stabbing of Kristie Reed.
On appeal, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Prince William prosecutors erred in pursuing a capital murder charge, among other errors they found in Powell's trial. The justices reversed Powell's capital murder conviction and remanded the case for a first-degree murder trial.
Virginia law states that a capital murder charge can be brought if someone commits murder in the commission of a felony such as abduction with intent to defile, rape, attempted rape or robbery.
Powell himself provided prosecutors with evidence for a second capital murder charge when he sent Ebert a letter in October 2001, after the Supreme Court ruled he couldn't be punished by death. Gloating that Ebert had 'saved my life,' by '[expletive] up' Powell said he would tell 'the rest of what happened on Jan. 29, 1999.'
In a gruesome description of the attack upon the Reed sisters, Powell revealed that he raped Stacie before killing her, providing the necessary evidence to try him on a capital murder charge. Powell was indicted for capital murder a second time on Dec. 3, 2001.
On Wednesday, Common-wealth's Attorney Paul Ebert and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney James Willett had no objections to the trial's postponement, which was requested by Powell's attorneys. The defense then asked to introduce an expert witness to appear in January, which Whisenant approved.
Williams also asked Whisenant to clarify for his client the consequences if Powell doesn't cooperate with an expert witness that prosecutors will bring to the trial. Whisenant said that if Powell doesn't cooperate, the defense will be unable to use their expert at the trial, a situation that occurred during Powell's original May 2000 trial.
Ebert said that the witness is local and asked to arrange for transportation so the witness can examine Powell, who is being held at the Suffolk I maximum security prison in Waverly. Powell is subject to special security provisions after it was discovered he could escape from his cell and had attacked a guard with a sharpened toothbrush. Three armed correctional officers accompanied Powell into the courtroom Wednesday, where he was restrained with two pairs of wrist restraints and a shock restraint.

Staff writer Maria Hegstad can be reached at (703) 368-3101, Ext. 121.