While the attorneys for convicted murderers Kevin Foley, Kevin Murphy, and Richard McAnulty have all been pursuing appeals or motions for post conviction relief on behalf of their clients, another convicted murdered, Arthur Whitfield of Josephine, has quietly been working to be re-sentenced for his guilty plea.
In June of 2016, Whitfield accepted a plea bargain to second degree murder, plus burglary and weapons charges, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the December, 2013 shooting death of his former girlfriend, 36-year-old Holly Slone George at her home in Derry. While George and her 15-year-old daughter were watching TV in an upstairs bedroom, Whitfield broke into her house and burst into the room, shooting George multiple times. He fled the home without harming any of George’s four children, who were in the house at the time, and was arrested hours later walking along a road nearby.
In February, Whitfield started the process of getting his sentence reduced, asking the court for transcripts of the case, and subsequently for other documents including his mental health reports. His case had stalled repeatedly because he had been termed mentally unfit for trial. In May, an amended petition for post conviction relief was filed, and the case has been slowly making its way through court throughout the summer, including the withdrawal of Whitfield’s attorney in July.
The court last Thursday sent Whitfield more documents. He has no listed attorney and no official court action is scheduled on his criminal docket sheet.
