10 August 2020 :
On Friday, the District Attorney’s Office announced that it has been notified that Judge Kent Harrell has granted a motion of appropriate relief filed on behalf of Keith Wiley. “Judge Harrell’s order vacates the jury’s conviction and sentence, granting Wiley a new trial,” the DA’s Office said in a news release. “He will be returned from Central Prison to the New Hanover County Jail as he awaits this new trial. Wiley was sentenced to death in New Hanover County in May 1999 on charges of killing Ritchie Futrelle, 17, on October 27, 1997 in a cocaine-dealing context. Judge Harrell ruled that the trial court improperly refused to allow defense counsel to strike an impaneled juror after the trial started when a juror who had previously denied knowing anyone associated with the case later indicated that he knew the victim and that his sister and mother knew the victim’s mother through the family’s business. The court also ruled that Wiley’s appeal lawyer was ineffective when she failed to raise the issue during his direct appeal.
