SMETHPORT – The Bradford man serving life in prison for his part
in the strangling death of an elderly woman in 1975 has filed
another appeal in his case to the state Superior Court.
Richard Wells, 54, is imprisoned for taking part in the death of
Dorothy Davidson, 75, in the Holley Hotel in Bradford. According to
court records, Wells held Davidson while Frank Castle, of Buffalo,
N.Y., strangled her following a robbery which netted them about
$20.
Castle and two other people involved pleaded guilty in the case.
Wells was the only one to stand trial.
According to records in McKean County Court, Wells did not file
a direct appeal after being found guilty of second-degree murder in
1976. He did, however, filed three Post Conviction Relief Act
petitions, the latest of which was dismissed by the Superior Court
in 2003 as being untimely.
The law states that such petitions should be filed within one
year of the judgment of sentence becoming final, which happened
April 26, 1976; the third petition had to be filed by April 26,
1977, but was not filed until nearly 25 years later. Therefore, the
Superior Court dismissed his petition.
On Jan. 25, 2006, the McKean County Clerk of Courts received a
petition from Wells, representing himself, asking the clerk to
“furnish court records and transcribed notes of testimony” because
he has a PCRA petition pending before McKean County Court.
On Feb. 7, President Judge John Cleland denied the petition,
saying that it appeared as though “there is no pending motion,
petition or other pleading before the court,” the order reads.
Wells filed a notice of appeal with the Superior Court on Feb.
14.
As required in an appeal, Cleland wrote an opinion in support of
his order to be included with the appeal. In that, he states, “Upon
reviewing the defendant’s application it appeared there is no
pending action. Under current law, therefore, the defendant is not
entitled to the relief requested.”
The Wells case has been before the courts a number of times
before. After his conviction, Wells filed a post-conviction
petition alleging that his right to a speedy trial was violated
because he was not brought to trial within 180 days of his arrest,
as he was incarcerated during that time.
Then-Potter County Judge Harold B. Fink presided over the
post-conviction hearing and ordered Wells to be set free, agreeing
his rights had been violated. The district attorney’s office filed
an appeal, keeping Wells incarcerated.
Ultimately, the Superior Court vacated Fink’s ruling and found
that Wells was not entitled to relief under the law.
