Wagoner County judge to determine whether woman had effective counsel

WAGONER, Okla. (AP) -- A Wagoner County judge will determine whether the attorney for a woman accused of killing her husband provided ineffective counsel during trial.<br/><br/>The Oklahoma Court of Criminal

Monday, December 26th 2005, 6:13 am

By: News On 6

WAGONER, Okla. (AP) -- A Wagoner County judge will determine whether the attorney for a woman accused of killing her husband provided ineffective counsel during trial.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals directed Associate District Judge Darrell Shepherd to conduct an evidentiary hearing on Pearl Lynn Smith's defense.

Smith was convicted last year of fatally shooting her husband, Thomas Drayton Smith, at the family home in 2003.

She alleges her defense was incomplete because attorney Park Medearis didn't have an expert witness testify about battered woman syndrome.

Smith's appellate counsel, Sandra Cinnamon, sought the evidentiary hearing, which Shepherd set for January 20th.

She was originally charged with first-degree murder, but jurors opted to convict her of the lesser second-degree murder charge.