Court upholds Gillis deal
La. Supreme Court says plea with condition OK
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NEW ORLEANS — A state judge did not overstep his authority when he allowed suspected serial killer Sean Vincent Gillis to plead guilty to a second-degree murder charge with a special condition attached, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Friday.
That condition allows Gillis to appeal a pretrial ruling by state District Judge Robin Free that allowed prosecutors to use Gillis’ confession at trial. If Gillis is successful in showing that the confession should not have been allowed at trial, Free would allow Gillis to take back his guilty plea and have the case reset for trial.
District Attorney Ricky Ward of the 18th Judicial District asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to review Free’s ruling. Ward wanted Gillis to either enter the guilty plea without any conditions or to have the case sent back to District Court for trial.
Gillis pleaded guilty last year in the second-degree murder of Joyce Williams in West Baton Rouge Parish in 1999.
When Gillis pleaded guilty to the murder of Williams on Aug. 20, his attorney, Kerry Cuccia, asked that the plea be made with the condition.
Lead prosecutor Tony Clayton objected to any conditions, but Judge Free granted it.
Gillis was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
He still faces murder trials in East Baton Rouge and Lafayette parishes.
Gillis claims his rights were violated during questioning because he asked to speak to an attorney, but that request was not granted. But Judge Free, who viewed more than 40 hours of questioning of Gillis, denied those claims.
The District Attorney’s Office has since argued that conditional plea is essentially a plea bargain and must be agreed to by both sides.
The state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal rejected prosecutors’ arguments in March, and now they have failed to prevail at the State Supreme Court.
Despite the setbacks to the prosecution, Gillis’ conviction remains in force.
That condition allows Gillis to appeal a pretrial ruling by state District Judge Robin Free that allowed prosecutors to use Gillis’ confession at trial. If Gillis is successful in showing that the confession should not have been allowed at trial, Free would allow Gillis to take back his guilty plea and have the case reset for trial.
District Attorney Ricky Ward of the 18th Judicial District asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to review Free’s ruling. Ward wanted Gillis to either enter the guilty plea without any conditions or to have the case sent back to District Court for trial.
Gillis pleaded guilty last year in the second-degree murder of Joyce Williams in West Baton Rouge Parish in 1999.
When Gillis pleaded guilty to the murder of Williams on Aug. 20, his attorney, Kerry Cuccia, asked that the plea be made with the condition.
Lead prosecutor Tony Clayton objected to any conditions, but Judge Free granted it.
Gillis was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
He still faces murder trials in East Baton Rouge and Lafayette parishes.
Gillis claims his rights were violated during questioning because he asked to speak to an attorney, but that request was not granted. But Judge Free, who viewed more than 40 hours of questioning of Gillis, denied those claims.
The District Attorney’s Office has since argued that conditional plea is essentially a plea bargain and must be agreed to by both sides.
The state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal rejected prosecutors’ arguments in March, and now they have failed to prevail at the State Supreme Court.
Despite the setbacks to the prosecution, Gillis’ conviction remains in force.
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