Goodwin appeal denied
A post-conviction appeal on behalf of former state police trooper Montgomery Goodwin was denied Tuesday by Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen. Goodwin was convicted of third-degree murder in the June 1987 death of Eugene Williams, the paramour of his estranged wife. He has been serving a 10- to 20-year sentence since his conviction in November 1988.
His appeal centers around claims that his trial attorney, Thomas Ceraso, was incompetent in the way he handled the trial.
In several points, Goodwin, through current attorney John Cupp Jr., claims that Ceraso failed to do several things that could have reshaped the outcome of his trial. Included in those things are lacking requests for Williams’ blood-alcohol level at the time of his death, failure to discuss evidence with Goodwin and failure to request a continuance of the trial when Ceraso received information from prosecutors at the time of trial.
Leskinen, in an eight-page opinion, wrote that none of Goodwin’s claims was enough to grant him a new trial. Goodwin has maintained his innocence and presented an alibi defense at trial.
“It is not this court’s duty at this time of evaluate that claim of innocence. It was for the jury to evaluate all of the evidence and render its verdict,” wrote Leskinen.
“A criminal defendant is not entitled to a perfect trial or a perfect lawyer. New trials cannot be granted for minor technical errors or oversights that could not have affected the outcome of the trial, nor can a new trial be granted just so a new theory of defense can be tested,” the judge continued.
After Goodwin’s arrest, the attorney general’s office took over prosecution of the case because of his law enforcement background. A visiting judge was also called in to avoid any improprieties.
Two years ago, Goodwin lost a bid to be released from prison because of failing health. He asked trial Judge Edwin L. Snyder to let him out of prison because he could not get adequate medical attention for persistent heart and arthritis problems.