BAKERSFIELD, Calif — Four years after Wendy Howard killed her ex-boyfriend Kelly Rees PItts, she has been sentenced on a charge of voluntary manslaughter after accepting a plea deal that allowed her to individually maintain her innocence while still allowing the court to pass sentence.
Howard again left the Kern County Courthouse in tears Thursday after being sentenced to time served and a year of probation. While the gag order in the case is now lifted, Howard has said she is not ready to talk about her experiences yet, especially after just checking in for probation for the first time.
"She struggled," said defense attorney Tony Lidgett. "She struggled big time. She hated to admit to everything, but the last thing she wanted to do was have the kids go through the whole ordeal."
Howard was sentenced after entering an Alford Plea in the case. Technically, she has pleaded guilty while personally professing her innocence.
"It's tough for her to do what she had to do. You can tell she even cries every time that she ends up even taking a plea, both because a: the case is over for her, and secondly because part of it was tough for her to do in the first place," said Lidgett.
In October 2022, a Kern County jury found Howard not guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and other lesser charges. However, they deadlocked 7 to 5 on the charge of voluntary manslaughter in the heat of passion.
Lidgett, who defended the case in court, says the charge should have been dismissed.
"You're talking about a woman who has been a victim of domestic violence herself, brutal domestic violence, and then on top of that, she's not only had one kid be molested and she went to the police, she had a second kid molested and went to the police again," said Lidgett. "She did everything right."
One of Howard's supporters, Alisa Bierra, also says things should not have gotten to this point.
"I think she should never have been charged in the first place. I think it's outrageous that a survivor of domestic violence who was able to save her own life and save the lives of her children has been treated this way by the DA," said Bierra.
Bierra adds that while Howard is now free, her case is helping others in this situation.
"We're so thrilled that Wendy can move forward without having to experience incarceration. We've learned so much through her case in terms of the patterns that survivors are facing in terms of the prosecutors that are aiming to punish them," said Bierra.
Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer released a statement about the sentencing. The statement reads, in part:
Wendy Howard and her daughters have many rights as the victims of crime, but those rights do not include a license for Wendy Howard to kill. Regardless of how wronged a person feels, or how abhorrent the conduct of another is, the law does not empower individuals to make themselves the judge, jury, and executioner of those who are perceived to have wronged them.
Lidgett says the DA went too far, and he plans to try and ensure Howard is ultimately exonerated.
"We are still going to appeal the fact that we lost the opinion of whether or not she was completely acquitted," said Lidgett.
According to Lidgett, if the appeal is approved, it could set a new legal precedent going forward.
"It has to go through Kern County to see if the judge will actually appeal it. We filed the notice of appeal, if the judge actually signs off on it, this is going to be something that is going to be completely novel, and might set new law too as well," said Lidgett.
Lidgett says it is important to note that it could take months for an appeal to work its way through the courts if Howard is to be acquitted, and if she is, the Wendy Howard case could become a model for future legal decisions.
