INDIANA NEWS

A federal appeals court has rejected the appeal of an Indiana man sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of his estranged wife and two of her relatives.

Matthew Eric Wrinkles, 48, of Evansville was convicted in 1995 in the murders of Debra Jean Wrinkles, 31; her brother, Mark "Tony" Fulkerson, 28; and Fulkerson's 26-year-old wife, Natalie "Chris" Fulkerson. Wrinkles' attorneys argued that he should have received a new trial because jurors were biased since they could see he was wearing a stun belt during his trial.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Tuesday affirmed a ruling by District Judge John Daniel Tinder that Wrinkles could not demonstrate prejudice because the jury was not aware he was wearing the stun belt.

"Our reaction would be is we're greatly disappointed by the decision," Wrinkles' attorney, Joseph Cleary, said Wednesday.

Wrinkles will seek a hearing on the issue before the full Court of Appeals, Cleary said.

At the time of the trial, Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Richard Young informed Wrinkles he had to wear a shackles or a stun belt because it was the court's policy. A stun belt is a battery-powered device designed to deliver electric shocks to wearers if they become violent.

In 2001, the Indiana Supreme Court banned the use of stun belts to restrain defendants in courtrooms, ruling the devices could interfere with a person's defense. That ruling was the result of the appeal by Wrinkles.

But the high court rejected Wrinkles' claim that his attorneys were ineffective because they did not object to him being forced to wear the belt. Wrinkles' trial attorneys chose the device over shackles because they believed it would not be visible to jurors.

Although Wrinkles presented affidavits from three jurors who claimed to have seen the stun belt during the trial, Tinder ruled that Wrinkles did not prove that the belt was visible or that the jury knew about it. The Appeals Court upheld that finding.

Appellate Judge Ilana D. Rovner dissented, however, saying Wrinkles' case was prejudiced by his attorneys' failure to challenge the court's decision that he must wear shackles or the stun belt.

"The natural reading of the opinion of the Indiana Supreme Court in Wrinkles II is that several jurors were aware of the stun belt during the trial. In light of that finding, Wrinkles has shown both the inherent prejudice that accompanies visible restraints and other detriments specific to his case," she wrote.

The state attorney general's office will not ask the Indiana Supreme Court to set an execution date until Wrinkles' appeals are completed, spokeswoman Staci Schneider said.

The last person executed in Indiana was Michael Lambert, 36, on June 15, 2007, for the fatal shooting of Muncie police Officer Gregg Winters.