Wade Wilson Death Row Update: Convicted Killer Heads Back to Court
Wade Wilson, the Florida man recently added to death row for murdering two women, will appear in court next month as his likely lengthy journey to appeal his sentencing is now underway.
Court documents show that attorney Michael Ufferman is representing Wilson, 30, in this new case.
The notice of appeal was filed on September 15. A status conference hearing is set for October 16 at 1:30 p.m. in the same Lee County Justice Center courtroom where Wilson was sentenced to death on August 27.
Newsweek was in the courtroom when the families of Wilson’s victims Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz clapped, cheered, and hugged each other when Judge Nick Thompson decided Wilson would be put to death for strangling both women within hours of eachother in October 2019.
Wade Wilson pictured in his newest mugshot (left) and in court on the day of his death sentencing.
Union Correctional Institution/YouTube
Wilson, whose face is covered in tattoos including several swasticas and a Joker-like stitched smile, showed no emotion when he learned his fate –or when his attorney read a letter from his adoptive parents begging the judge to spare his life.
Newsweek contacted Ufferman, as well as Wilson’s previous attorneys Lee Hollander and Kevin Shirley for comment.
Ufferman was recognized as the 2024 Tallahassee Lawyer of the Year in Appellate Practice by The Best Lawyers in America. He is also an adjunct professor teaching criminal procedure at the Florida State University College of Law.
Days after his sentencing, Wilson was transferred from the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers to the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford on Friday where he now awaits execution.
His newest mugshot debuted his completely shaved head paired against his bright orange inmate suit.
There are currently 274 men and two women on death row in Florida. Female death row inmates are housed at Lowell Annex in Lowell.
Death row cells measure 6-by-9 feet with a height of 9.5 feet. Inmates awaiting execution, after the governor signs a death warrant, are housed in death watch cells, which measure 12-by-7 feet with a height of 8.5 feet.
Despite the gruesome details of Wilson’s murders going viral, he also has supporters all over the world.
In an email last month, Shirley told Newsweek that he also worked on the televised State V. Joseph Zeiler capital murder trial but has never seen the “very unusual” fanfare surrounding Wilson’s case on social media.
“I’ve never been involved in anything like this before. I don’t know how many tens of thousands of people are communicating with him or communicating with each other about him,” he told Newsweek in person after the sentencing. “There’s donations that are set up for him. I think it’s ridiculous, but there’s a lot of people that think otherwise.”
When asked how Robert Melton, the brother of victim Kristine Melton, felt about Wilson not showing any emotion when he was sentenced to death, he found his astonishment difficult to put into words.
Kristine Melton, 35, was a cat lover.
“He just doesn’t seem like a person,” he told Newsweek about the killer. “It’s so horrific.”
Robert Melton doesn’t understand the social media fanfare surrounding Wilson, either.
“A friend of mine sent me a link, like ‘Oh yeah, he’s a TikTok sensation,’ and I’m just like, ‘Oh my God.'”
“I don’t want anything in this to be about him,” Robert Melton added. “Two wonderful people died. This should not end up being about Wade.”
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