Retrial begins Ada murder case from 1982

ADA, Okla. (AP) Lawyers delivered opening statements Monday in the retrial of a man convicted in the 1982 rape and strangulation of 21-year-old Deborah Sue ``Debbie'' Carter. <br/><br/>Glen Dale

Monday, June 12th 2006, 1:53 pm

By: News On 6

ADA, Okla. (AP) Lawyers delivered opening statements Monday in the retrial of a man convicted in the 1982 rape and strangulation of 21-year-old Deborah Sue ``Debbie'' Carter.

Glen Dale Gore, 46, is being tried a second time for the slaying after his conviction and death sentence were overturned in August by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Jurors were sworn in Monday morning, and prosecutor Richard Wintory delivered an opening statement, said Janice Burns, legal assistant for presiding Judge Thomas Landrith.

Wintory, former Oklahoma County assistant district attorney, left his position as a prosecutor in Tucson, Arizona, to prosecute Gore. He served as lead prosecutor in the first trial and will join Pontotoc County Assistant District Attorney Chris Ross to prosecute him again.

Norman defense attorney David Smith agreed to represent Gore free of charge.

Hours before Carter died in her apartment in Ada, she was seen shoving Gore, a high school acquaintance, in the parking lot of the club where she worked. DNA testing was used to link him to the case and exonerate two other men, one who came within five days of being executed.

The two wrongful convictions, Gore's original trial and this retrial have spanned 23 years.

The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Gore wasn't allowed to present evidence that others might have committed the crime, so he is entitled to a new trial.

In 1988, jurors convicted Dennis Fritz and Ronald Williamson in Carter's death. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison; Williamson was sentenced to death. The two men remained behind bars for 12 years until DNA testing of forensic evidence exonerated them. Williamson died in 2004 from liver disease.

Gore testified as a witness against Fritz and Williamson at their preliminary hearings. Testing later revealed that semen found on the victim had the same DNA profile as Gore's blood. Gore had previously been convicted on kidnapping and other related charges after his ex-wife testified he held her and her daughter hostage for six hours and fired shots at police.