TAVARES -- Lawyers for convicted cop killer Jason Wheeler went before the Florida Supreme Court Tuesday to try and get his conviction overturned.
Wheeler's public defender argued victim impact statements and pictures shown during the sentencing phase of the trial because it was prejudicial.
Wheeler was convicted and sentenced to death on Feb. 9, 2005 in the killing of deputy Wayne Koester and wounding deputies Tom McKane and William Crotty. The deputies were investigating a sexual assault allegation made by Wheeler's girlfriend, Sarah Heckerman.
Wheeler was paralyzed when he was shot while he was being captured.
The prosecutor said they didn't use the evidence to make Wheeler's life seem less valuable.
"The jury has no business in deciding the value of one's life, and the relative impact of one's death, when it said victim impact evidence cannot be offered to encourage comparative judgments that the defendant whose capital victim was an asset to the community, is more deserving of punishment than the defendant whose victim was perceived less worthy," said James Wulchak, Wheeler's attorney.
"He didn't make that argument to the jury, first of all. He didn't make the compare and contrast -- 'My victim is a law enforcement officer and an upstanding citizen, my defendant is a dirt bag.' He didn't make that comparison," said Kenneth Nunnelley, the prosecutor.
Wheeler, himself, was not at Tuesday's hearing. There was no word on when the justices would make their decision on Wheeler's conviction.
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