Man convicted of first-degree murder wants to withdraw guilty plea

A man convicted in the 2014 shooting death of a 6-year-old wants to withdraw his guilty pleas for first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Scottie Willet, 30, pleaded guilty to the murder of Dayne Hathman back in 2016 but now his lawyer, Val Leftwich, said he was pressured into the plea and didn’t fully understand the implications because he is intellectually disabled.

Leftwich said that when Willet pleaded guilty, he was made to believe that he would be subject to the death penalty if he didn’t. But because he’s intellectually disabled, he legally couldn’t be so he shouldn’t have taken the plea.

Leftwich plans to call several witnesses in a two-day hearing in front of Judge Jeff Harris in Callaway County. Four testified Wednesday, including two psychologists and two employees from the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

According to the two psychologists that testified, Willet has an IQ in the 60s and has the mental capacity of a 7 to 12-year-old, despite the fact that he is in his 30s.

A doctor of general adolescence and forensic psychiatry who evaluated Willet testified that he “misunderstood wholly” the guilty plea and would not have been able to knowingly and intelligently make it.

The state cross examined the doctors and hit home the fact that neither ever really asked or had evidence that Willet didn’t understand. Both doctors said that based on their evaluations, there’s no way Willet would have been able to.

By reversing his plea, Willet could then have charges reduced to second-degree murder, where the sentence is, at most, 30 years in prison.

Willets parents were in the courtroom, as was Dayne Hathman’s mother.

The hearing continues Thursday when Callaway County Prosecutor Chris Wilson will take the stand and explain if he did ever imply to Willet that the death penalty could be on the table.

You can read more about the case here.