MONROE - The attorney for Mary Sidoff, who was convicted of murder in 2006, thinks lesser charges should have been included in the jury instructions.
Attorney William Schmaal told Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer Thursday the jury that convicted Sidoff in September 2006 should have been told they could consider a lesser penalty than first-degree intentional homicide.
Schmaal said the jury should have been told it could consider the charge of homicide by negligent use of a weapon, which means that Sidoff accidentally killed Ardelle Sturzenegger, 88, Janesville, in October 2005.
A lesser penalty would have meant Sidoff would spend a considerably less amount of time in prison, between 10 and 12 years.
Sidoff, 25, was sentenced to life in prison in November 2006 for first-degree intentional homicide. She's eligible for parole in 44 years.
In addition to the mandatory life sentence for first degree intentional murder, Sidoff also received concurrent 10-year sentences for theft and hiding a corpse - five years each will be served during Sidoff's initial incarceration and the remaining five years will each be under extended supervision.
Roger Merry, who was Sidoff's attorney at the time of her trial, testified at the hearing that evidence didn't suggest an accidental shooting and it was his opinion to try to show Sidoff wasn't involved with the murder at all.
Merry was the only person who testified at Thursday's hearing.
Beer ordered Schmaal to submit a written brief detailing his concerns by May 27 and ordered Green County District Attorney Gary Luhman to submit a response within 14 days.
Beer scheduled a motion hearing on the briefs for 1:30 p.m. June 18.
Authorities said Sidoff lured Sturzenegger to the rural Monticello farmhouse she rented with her husband, David, on Oct. 11. Once there, Sidoff shot Sturzenegger once in the back of the head with a .40-caliber handgun and hid the body in a nearby horse pasture.
Authorities also said Mary Sidoff and her husband David went on a spending spree in the following days with the approximately $50,000 Sturzenegger was carrying.
Davis Sidoff was sentenced June 19 to 30 days in jail with work release privileges and two years probation. In February 2007, he pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property, a class G felony, and concealing stolen property and obstructing an officer, both class A misdemeanors.
Attorney William Schmaal told Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer Thursday the jury that convicted Sidoff in September 2006 should have been told they could consider a lesser penalty than first-degree intentional homicide.
Schmaal said the jury should have been told it could consider the charge of homicide by negligent use of a weapon, which means that Sidoff accidentally killed Ardelle Sturzenegger, 88, Janesville, in October 2005.
A lesser penalty would have meant Sidoff would spend a considerably less amount of time in prison, between 10 and 12 years.
Sidoff, 25, was sentenced to life in prison in November 2006 for first-degree intentional homicide. She's eligible for parole in 44 years.
In addition to the mandatory life sentence for first degree intentional murder, Sidoff also received concurrent 10-year sentences for theft and hiding a corpse - five years each will be served during Sidoff's initial incarceration and the remaining five years will each be under extended supervision.
Roger Merry, who was Sidoff's attorney at the time of her trial, testified at the hearing that evidence didn't suggest an accidental shooting and it was his opinion to try to show Sidoff wasn't involved with the murder at all.
Merry was the only person who testified at Thursday's hearing.
Beer ordered Schmaal to submit a written brief detailing his concerns by May 27 and ordered Green County District Attorney Gary Luhman to submit a response within 14 days.
Beer scheduled a motion hearing on the briefs for 1:30 p.m. June 18.
Authorities said Sidoff lured Sturzenegger to the rural Monticello farmhouse she rented with her husband, David, on Oct. 11. Once there, Sidoff shot Sturzenegger once in the back of the head with a .40-caliber handgun and hid the body in a nearby horse pasture.
Authorities also said Mary Sidoff and her husband David went on a spending spree in the following days with the approximately $50,000 Sturzenegger was carrying.
Davis Sidoff was sentenced June 19 to 30 days in jail with work release privileges and two years probation. In February 2007, he pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property, a class G felony, and concealing stolen property and obstructing an officer, both class A misdemeanors.