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Wilson gets 160 years for murder
Lauren Eargle, left, comforts her mother, Pam McCalla, as others testify Monday, March 15, 2010, in Wayne Circuit Court, at a sentencing hearing regarding the shooting death of their stepfather and husband, the Rev. Mark McCalla.
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WAYNE -- The Rev. Mark McCalla's wife, son, sister and father arrived in court with the same request Monday morning -- a long prison sentence for the triggerman in the minister's death.
Wayne Circuit Judge Darrell Pratt granted their wish by ordering a 160-year prison sentence for Stephen Wilson. A jury convicted the U.S. Army deserter in December 2009 of first-degree robbery and second-degree murder.
Paul McCalla paid tribute Monday by reading a greeting card intended for what would have been his son's 49th birthday. Mark McCalla, pastor of Huntington's Highlawn Presbyterian Church, would have turned 50 next month. The father's testimony also included a strong expression of the anger still felt by his family.
"He chose to murder my son. I only hope the court will protect the world from having this happen again," Paul McCalla said of Wilson. "Let's not forget the crime -- cold-blooded murder. There is nothing good about a person who sneaks up behind a messenger of God and kills him execution style."
A forestry worker found McCalla's body June 19, 2008, hidden in weeds at a secluded gun range in the Beech Fork Wildlife Management Area. Separate juries found that Wilson and fellow Army deserter Daniel Smith killed the preacher and stole his firearms.
Pratt publicly chastised Wilson, saying he had observed no remorse from either him or Smith. Instead, Pratt said he saw two Army buddies still trying to one-up and impress each other in terms of toughness. He believed jurors would have given both men the death penalty if capital punishment were permitted in West Virginia.
"That's the most senseless act I've ever had to deal with in 25 years as a prosecutor and judge," he said.
Before the sentence was announced, McCalla's wife, Pam, addressed Wilson directly.
"A future of love and memories were all wiped away in a moment of greed," she told Wilson and the court at large. "When I encounter other couples holding hands, I get jealous of the love they share and what was taken from me. ... In one, thoughtless, selfish second, your actions caused the end of loving relationships that no one but Mark McCalla could have had."
Earlier, Wilson had stood as the first person to address the court in an attempt to apologize.
"I know that words are not enough," he said. "I am sorry, for as much as it is worth."
After the sentencing hearing, Ben McCalla, 18, said he saw no emotion in Wilson's face Monday and called the lack of expression insulting. The teenager was the last of four family members to testify. He read his father's last communion meditation at the request of his aunt, Jodie McCalla. It compared the forgiving love of Jesus Christ to that of a man's love for his dog.
"Life is full of decisions and some of them can be pretty tough," Ben McCalla testified in closing. "Now I want you, Mr. Wilson, to reflect on your decision to end the life of a man that wrote the sermon I just read everyday of your life, if you ever expect forgiveness."
Wilson's 160-year punishment consists of a 40-year prison term for murder, the maximum allowed for second-degree murder, and a 120-year sentence for robbery. The punishments run consecutive to one another. Wilson must serve 40 years of the sentence before his first eligibility for parole, although no such release is guaranteed.
Smith received a sentence of life with mercy for first-degree murder in August 2009. Pratt ordered that sentence be served consecutively with a 90-year sentence for robbery. That equaled at least 37 years and six months behind bars before parole eligibility, although Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Plymale said Monday that new legal wrangling about a technicality could eliminate the robbery sentence and make Smith eligible for parole in 15 years, but again no such release is guaranteed.
Testimony at Smith's trial described Wilson as the alleged triggerman.
Monday's sentencing hearing also provided a glimpse into lives on both sides of the gun. Gregg Wilson testified his son grew up a good kid, who participated in sports such as soccer, roller hockey and wrestling. The father's proudest moment was seeing his son graduate from Army basic training. Gregg Wilson blamed Smith, who was Stephen's squad leader, for turning his son into a convicted felon.
Paul McCalla remembered his son as a man who loved nature and studied criminal justice in hopes of becoming an environmental lawyer. He attended an Idaho law school, but turned away from the legal profession and toward seminary.
Paul McCalla said, after court, he hopes the core values that his son preached live on, along with a legacy that, "Good will never fail. Bad will always be incarcerated, sooner or later."
