- Posted August 09, 2013
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Guilty plea OK for Mich. woman in husband's death
BAY CITY (AP) -- The Michigan appeals court has reinstated the murder conviction of a Bay County woman who repeatedly shot her husband in the back.
A judge had allowed Rebecca Shimel to withdraw her guilty plea to second-degree murder, saying her lawyer was ineffective. But the appeals court overturned that decision in an opinion released Wednesday.
Shimel says her lawyer did a poor job by not fully exploring a battered-spouse defense and explaining the plea deal in 2011. But the appeals court says evidence of abuse was thin.
The court says Shimel probably wouldn't have received a better outcome if she'd gone to trial.
She was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison for Rodney Shimel's death.
Published: Fri, Aug 9, 2013
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