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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; With less than six months until reputed gang member and convicted killer Jessie Con-ui is scheduled to face trial on charges he murdered a local corrections officer, attorneys on Monday filed multiple motions seeking to bar a judge from allowing evidence.</p><p>Con-ui, 39, could face the death penalty if convicted next year for the murder of 34-year-old Corrections Officer Eric Williams. Prosecutors allege Con-ui brutally murdered the Nanticoke native inside U.S. Penitentiary Canaan in Wayne County in 2013.</p><p>Con-ui, allegedly angered over a cell search, blindsided the unarmed Williams and kicked him down a prison stairwell before stabbing him to death, prosecutors say. President Barack Obama in March <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/520312/obama-signs-protective-law-named-for-slain-corrections-officer-eric-williams" target="_blank">signed into law a bill named after Williams</a> that armed federal corrections officers with pepper spray.</p><p>Prosecutors first announced their intent to seek the death penalty against Con-ui on Oct. 2, 2014.</p><p>The motion claimed Con-ui, an alleged member of the New Mexican Mafia and convicted first-degree murderer, presents a future danger &#8220;because of low potential for rehabilitation and lack of remorse.&#8221; Additionally, Con-ui should be sentenced to death because of his participation in additional acts of violence that went uncharged, prosecutors said.</p><p>Four motions, filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa, seek to prohibit certain evidence should a jury convict Con-ui and be required to consider the death penalty, while Con-ui&#8217;s attorneys seek to quash evidence as well.</p><p>Federal prosecutors&#8217; motions ask to:</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Preclude execution impact evidence</strong></p><p>Prosecutors are seeking to limit what evidence Con-ui can enter regarding the effect his death would have on his loved ones. They say testimony that he is beloved by family and friends, the negative impact the death penalty would have on them and any pleas for mercy &#8220;are not relevant to (Con-ui&#8217;s) character or his personal culpability for the charged murders.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Just as victim impact witnesses are not permitted to cry out for death, execution impact witnesses must not be allowed to cry out for life,&#8221; prosecutors wrote.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Preclude comparative proportionality evidence and arguments </strong></p><p>Prosecutors are seeking to prevent Con-ui from comparing the facts of his case to other similar cases, including capitol punishment cases.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Preclude prison culture evidence and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) contributory negligence claim</strong></p><p>Presenting evidence Con-ui was treated unfairly in prison or the BOP failed to respond to the murder scene in a timely manner is not relevant to a mitigating factor and would confuse and prejudice a jury, prosecutors say. They ask a judge to ban such evidence.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Preclude unsworn allocution</strong></p><p>Prosecutors ask a judge to prohibit an unsworn statement to the jury in which the defendant can ask for mercy, explain his or her conduct, apologize for the crime, or say anything else in an effort to lessen the impending sentence, according to the motion. Prosecutors argue Con-ui does not have the constitutional or statutory right to make such statements.</p><p>&#8226;<strong> Defense motions</strong></p><p>Con-ui&#8217;s attorneys, meanwhile, seek to prevent prosecutors from showing video of Williams&#8217; murder &#8220;as well as emotionally-fraught and unfairly prejudicial post-mortem photographs of (Williams&#8217;) body&#8221; during the guilt and penalty phases of his trial.</p><p>Additionally, attorneys David A. Ruhnke, James A. Swetz and Mark F. Fleming request a judge prohibit evidence regarding Con-ui&#8217;s other alleged acts of violence, including an assault on a fellow inmate inside another prison and an alleged 2003 plan to participate in multiple murders.</p><p>Con-ui&#8217;s trial is slated to begin April 24.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_Jessie-Con-Ui-2014zillaCMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Con-ui </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_Jessie-Con-Ui-2014zillaCMYK.jpg</photo0><caption0>Con-ui </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Attorneys for alleged corrections officer killer file multiple motions