SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND)- A Decatur man convicted of killing his wife in 2000 could face sanctions for filing frivolous appeals, a state appellate court ruled Tuesday.
In January 2002, a Macon County jury convicted Willie J. Harper of murdering his wife, Tammy Jean Hackl. Investigators say Harper strangled Hackl just four days after their wedding on Valentine’s Day 2000. Harper was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Harper appealed immediately after sentencing, and the appellate court affirmed his conviction and sentencing. Since then, Harper has filed a petition for postconviction relief in 2005, an amended petition in 2006, a motion to file another petition in 2009 and an additional motion to file in 2010. The courts denied those motions.
In August 2016, Harper filed a motion for DNA testing of blood samples from the crime scene, but the trial court dismissed that motion, since they found “identity was not an issue that was raised at the trial.”
In their opinion published Tuesday, the appellate court agreed and found no evidence that “identity was an issue in this case at all, let alone a central issue at trial.” Harper testified at trial and did not deny killing his wife, the appellate court found. Instead, his defense relied on theories of intoxication, provocation and self-defense, they wrote.
“Since defendant’s conviction in 2002, he has filed in the trial court numerous petitions, motions, and other miscellaneous pleadings—no matter how repetitive or futile – in an attempt to evade the consequences of killing his wife,” the court wrote. “Defendant’s continuing abuse of the court system has squandered judicial resources that could have been better spent addressing claims filed by good-faith litigants.”
The appellate court reminded the trial court that they can collect funds from Harper’s trust fund to pay for the costs of the litigation. The appellate court also gave
