Accused killer to remain in solitary confinement

Judge John Roberts issued an order Friday saying Wade's lawyers have not produced enough evidence to convince him that Wade's constitutional right to a fair trial is being violated by his segregation. The ruling does not end the matter, however. Roberts said if Wade provides evidence that he is unable to assist his attorneys because of the confinement, he will reconsider.

Wade is accused of the 2007 torture and murder of his Sand Lake neighbor, nurse practitioner Mindy Schloss. He will be tried in federal court, where he would face the death penalty if convicted.

His lawyers said the isolation is threatening the mental competency of their client and that it was making it difficult to prepare his defense. But the judge wrote that the "defendant must do more than offer conclusory statements that the conditions of his confinement are affecting his mental state, and therefore, his ability to assist counsel."

The hearing on the matter was conducted Tuesday. It was closed to the public.

Wade, 29, has no access while in solitary confinement to TV, radio, educational classes or any of the other privileges of other prisoners. He gets out for one hour a day to exercise in the yard by himself.

The Alaska Department of Corrections would not comment on the May incident involving another prisoner that led to the confinement. Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said, "The alleged incident is an open case that is still under review."

Wade's trial is scheduled for March in Fairbanks. His lawyers asked for the trial to be moved from Anchorage. Due to the publicity, they said that getting unbiased jurors in Anchorage would be difficult.

Both the prosecution and defense have filed a flurry of motions in preparation for the trial. One significant issue still lingers -- whether evidence regarding Della Brown, whom Wade was accused of murdering in 2000, will be allowed in the trial.

Wade's defense was that he found Brown's body in a Spenard shed and showed it to acquaintances; he didn't kill her. The jury believed him, and he was acquitted of murder in the 2003 trial.

But federal prosecutors in the Schloss case say the jury got it wrong and that Wade raped and murdered Brown. It is one of their justifications for seeking the death penalty.