A former Newcastle resident, convicted of slaying his father and a former girlfriend, asked the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Monday to grant him a new trial.
Peter J. Detroy, a lawyer representing John A. Okie, 23, who is serving two consecutive 30-year prison terms, argued the trial court judge erred when he failed to instruct jurors what would happen if they decided Okie was not guilty by reason of insanity.
Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber countered, reminding the justices that that argument has been tried in the past.
“It has been tried six times and the court rejected the claims. The Okie case is the seventh,” he said.
Detroy admitted the trial judge’s instruction used language approved by the courts, is a so-called “stock instruction.”
“Yes, the judge gave a stock trial instruction but we believe it is time to revisit that question,” said Detroy.
The defense lawyer argued that the jurors might have found Okie not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI), not because of the evidence, but because of a belief he would just be returned to the community and possibly harm others.
Despite being instructed to base their decision only on the facts of the case and the law, and to not consider the effect of their findings, Detroy said jurors knew from TV that a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict would mean a criminal could possibly walk out the courthouse door.
“Jurors are not disembodied spirits,” he said.
Detroy’s argument brought a sharp challenge from Justice Donald G. Alexander. According to Alexander’s official biography, he is the author of the Maine Jury Instruction Manual (4th Ed., 2008).
“Should the jury decide based on something that might happen?” Alexander asked.
Detroy, who told the court Okie is a young man suffering from a very severe mental illness, also complained a prosecution final argument improperly claimed a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict required them to find he had demonstrated “public insanity.”
Tim Mills, of Wayne, the father of victim Alexandra Leigh “Aleigh” Mills, 19, Okie’s former girlfriend, said the defense lawyer made a hollow argument. He said the trial judge followed the law.
“The only complaint I have is that the judge was too lenient on Okie. I hope sometime the court will revisit capital punishment,” he said.
Okie was convicted of beating Mills to death on July 10, 2007 and stabbing his father, John S. Okie Sr., 59, six days later in the family home in Newcastle.
Since his conviction, Okie is being housed in a state correctional facility in Warren.
Ironically, Detroy is seeking to overturn the case based upon an instruction given by the trial judge, Justice Joseph M. Jabar. In September, Gov. John E. Baldacci named Justice Jabar to a seat on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Jabar did not participate in the Okie appeal case.
The arguments were held in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland. No decision is expected before January, Macomber said.
