Juror whose conduct undid Fell case fired from VT job

John Lepore, the juror whose conduct in the Donald Fell death-penalty case eventually prompted the overturning of the guilty verdict and death sentence, was fired from his state job for dishonesty related to his jury service, new court papers reveal.

Lepore won a reversal of his 2015 firing from the state labor board, but on Friday, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled the termination from his job as an Agency of Transportation environmental biologist was appropriate.

A unanimous high court found that Lepore "committed serious misconduct that related to his fitness as a state employee" during his service on the Fell jury in 2005.

"He defied a federal court’s instructions in a capital murder case, conducted an improper outside investigation, informed fellow jurors about his discoveries, and then lied about his actions under oath," reads the opinion, written by Associate Justice Marilyn Skoglund. "He exhibited extremely poor judgment and brazen dishonesty. He refused to admit wrongdoing either to the federal court or to AOT officials.

"His misconduct and his status as a state employee were well-known throughout AOT and other state and federal agencies that interacted with AOT," the 11-page opinion continues. "Grievant lost the trust of his coworkers and peers, and his actions brought discredit to the State."

The court concluded that Lepore lost credibility, and Vermont's reputation "would be severely undermined" unless the state fired him.

Contact information for Lepore, a Northfield resident hired by the Transportation Agency in 1992, could not be located Friday afternoon. He has declined to comment about the case over the years.

The Vermont State Employees' Association, which represented Lepore before the Vermont Labor Relations Board, called Friday's ruling disappointing.

"We thought the VLRB’s decision was a sound one, and it’s unfortunate that the court disagreed,” union spokesman Doug Gibson said.

Fell was convicted 11 years ago of abducting and killing Terri King, 53, a grandmother from North Clarendon, in November 2000 after she arrived for work at a Rutland supermarket. Fell and an accomplice, who later died in prison, were fleeing from the double slaying of Fell's mother and a friend of hers in Rutland when they encountered King, stole her car and forced her into the vehicle, federal prosecutors allege.

The pair drove King to New York state, where they beat her to death in a field while she prayed for her life, according to court papers.

Fell pleaded not guilty to federal charges of kidnapping and carjacking with death resulting, though his lawyers argued during the 2005 trial that he did kill King but should be spared the death penalty because of mitigating circumstances including his mental capacity and difficult upbringing.

The state began investigating Lepore after a 2014 Burlington Free Press article revealed he was the juror whose misconduct prompted the Fell verdict to be reversed. The juror's name was excluded from court records regarding the overturned case, but Lepore was publicly identified in documents made public after the verdict in 2005.

Lepore, according to court testimony and documents, secretly traveled to Rutland during the 2005 trial to look at the crime scenes there, then talked to other jurors about what he saw, failed to tell the judge about his excursion and later lied under oath when questioned about what he did. Trial rules prohibit jurors from considering any evidence other than what lawyers present in court.

His actions came to light when Fell defense attorneys began investigating possible avenues for appeal.

Lepore, whose state salary was $71,656 at the time of his dismissal, appealed his firing to the labor board. The panel concluded that he should not have been dismissed, in part because the state spent nearly a year investigating the allegations but failed to restrict his work duties during the inquiry. The board concluded Lepore should be reinstated and receive back pay plus interest, but with a 30-day suspension.

The Supreme Court disagreed, concluding that the firing of Lepore was reasonable.

Assistant Attorney General Kassandra Diederich, who represented the state before the labor board, praised the Supreme Court's ruling for reflecting "the importance of having state employees who are credible, who are honest and who are accountable for their actions."

Under the labor board ruling, Lepore had been allowed to return to work with the Agency of Transportation, but the award of back pay and interest was placed on hold pending the state's appeal to the Supreme Court. Lepore earned his state salary following his reinstatement, but with the Supreme Court decision, he will receive no back pay or interest, said Tom Cheney, commissioner of the state Human Resources Department.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Lepore is a substitute teacher in Washington County and also works as a cook at a pizza restaurant in Waterbury. Lepore writes on LinkedIn that he believes as a substitute teacher "it's a sad day when we don't learn, so each student is taught about accountability, self respect, respect for others, and respect for the school."

Fell's retrial is scheduled to begin in late February, though pending legal issues, including a defense challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty, could result in delays. Late Friday, Fell's lawyers filed a request for a postponement.

Vermont state law has no death penalty, but Fell is being tried under federal law. He was the first person in Vermont to face a capital murder trial in 50 years.

Lawyers: Fell stabbed prisoner with 10-inch shank

This story was first posted online on Dec. 9, 2016, and has been updated. Contact Adam Silverman at 660-1854 or asilverman@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wej12.

Do you have a breaking news tip? Call us at 802-660-6500 or send us a post on Facebook or Twitter using #BFPTips.