Man files appeal of murder conviction in death of former Pictou County woman
A P.E.I. man, convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, a former Pictou County resident, was back in court last week trying to get a new trial.
Joel Lawrence Clow appeared with his lawyer, Kent Brown, in the P.E.I. Court of Appeal in Charlottetown where three judges heard submissions.
Brown argued P.E.I. Supreme Court Justice Nancy Key, who sat for the trial, made several errors and a new trial should be ordered.
Clow was found guilty in July 2017 of second-degree murder in the 2015 death of Traci Lynn Lynch.
An autopsy found Lynch was beaten and had injuries to her face, neck, torso, back and extremities.
She died of a blunt-force blow to the head and strangulation.
Clow hid Lynch’s body in a wheelbarrow under a tarp at his home in Pleasant Grove.
He admitted his actions caused Lynch’s death, but he denied he intended to kill her, which left Key to determine if he was guilty of manslaughter or murder.
In October 2017, Key sentenced Clow to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.
During his submissions Wednesday, Brown argued the seconddegree murder conviction should be overturned on several grounds and he maintained Key made several errors in her decision.
He argued Key didn’t properly direct herself in the use of evidence related to Clow’s prior disreputable conduct and comments Lynch made before she died.
Brown said the question is whether Clow had the required intent to kill Lynch.
Along with the conviction, Clow appealed his sentence, asking the court to set the period before he is eligible for parole in the range of 10 to 15 years.
Crown attorney Cyndria Wedge said it was her submission that Key didn’t make errors of law and her reasons for the verdict were sufficient.
Wedge also filed a cross-appeal, seeking to have the conviction changed to first-degree murder on the grounds Clow forcibly confined Lynch.
In her submissions, Wedge suggested several of Clow’s actions, including looping a shirt around Lynch’s neck and dragging her to his home were “coercive restraint.” Clow’s actions amounted to forcible confinement separate from the act of killing Lynch.
Wedge said factual findings in the case were clear and when the law is properly applied it supports a conviction on first-degree murder.
On the cross-appeal, Brown argued Wedge hadn’t established the court of appeal had the jurisdiction to interfere with Key’s findings.
After hearing the submissions, Chief Justice David Jenkins told the courtroom he wouldn’t say how long it would take for a decision, but the appeal judges would treat it as a priority.