The lawyer representing the Steuben County man who was sentenced to life in prison in April 2017 was in Rochester on Wednesday to appeal his conviction.
Thomas Clayton is currently serving life in prison without parole at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York for his role in the murder of his wife, Kelley Stage Clayton.
The former Elmira Jackals hockey player was found guilty in February 2017. Chemung County District Attorney Weeden Wetmore, acting as special prosecutor, said Clayton hired a former employee, Michael Beard, to kill his wife for $10,000. Kelley was beaten to death in their home in the Town of Caton, in September 2015.
Clayton’s attorney, Brian Shiffrin, argued in a Rochester-based appellate court on April 10, that the prosecution’s case lacked solid evidence, claiming that cell tower technology and cellphone anaylsis, which largely provided the basis for the conviction, is non-scientific. Wetmore countered this argument by stating that “this is not new science,” and is proven to be legitimate.
A decision regarding the appeal could be made by the end of the month.
This case garnered national attention and was featured in an episode of NBC’s Dateline.
