CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A man who was granted a new trial in 2019 has waited nearly two years for the trial to start.
Terry Wilson was convicted of the murder of Willie Clark in 2014. Five years later, Wilson’s attorney discovered that a juror made racist statements during deliberations.
“I know I made a mistake, but I know I don’t deserve to spend the rest of my life in prison,” he said.
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Wilson doesn’t deny killing Willie Clark in 2013 at Prince Drewry Park in Clinton Township. However, he does not think it was murder.
“I took a life. It’s sad but I never acted with malice in my heart. My actions were never deliberate. I was afraid for my life and things took a wrong turn,” he said.
After winning an appeal in 2019, Wilson’s new trial was slated to start in March 2020, but then COVID hit, leaving him in the Macomb County Jail.
“It’s kind of hard on me. I’ve been in the hole for over 23 months. I’m a diabetic and it’s affecting my mental health and my health in general,” he said.
The whole thing has been hard on Wilson’s mother, LaShanda Kelley, who is scared for the next trial, which is slated to start Oct. 5. She is worried about the jury and would rather there be a plea deal.
“There was a life taken. He does deserves to be punished. I don’t feel like he needs to spend the rest of his life in prison, but he should be punished,” Kelley said.
More: Macomb County news