Prosecutors: Rock Hill father convicted of rape, murder of daughter had adequate defense attorneys

Billy Wayne Cope, the Rock Hill father convicted in the 2001 rape and killing of his 12-year-old daughter, had four adequate lawyers defending him and should be denied a new trial, according to documents filed by state prosecutors. Cope has claimed his lawyers botched his defense.

Cope can’t satisfy any of the legal requirements for ineffective counsel, lawyers with the state Attorney General’s Office said, and they will oppose his attempt to get a new trial in the rape and strangling death of Amanda Cope, according to documents filed in York County civil court.

However, the investigation and monthlong 2004 trial – during which Cope confessed and later recanted, and DNA of another man was found on Amanda’s body – was so complex that state prosecutors are asking for a hearing on the evidence Cope alleges to have against his lawyers later this year.

Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett and deputy solicitor Willy Thompson, who convicted Cope and co-defendant James Edward Sanders, have said repeatedly Cope received a fair trial.

Cope and Sanders are serving life sentences for convictions of murder, rape and conspiracy. Cope and his legal team have claimed for more than a decade that Cope is innocent, despite the conviction.

Earlier this year, Cope filed a lawsuit claiming his trial and appeals lawyers should have more vigorously tried to get Sanders’ criminal history into the trial. He also has claimed his lawyers at trial and on appeal did not do enough to paint Sanders as the sole villain. Cope’s lawsuit, called a post-conviction relief claim, is often used by convicted defendants but is rarely successful.

Cope, 52, was convicted in a 2004 trial along with Sanders, a convicted felon and sexual predator, for the crimes against Amanda Cope. Sanders’ DNA was found on Amanda’s body despite Cope’s confessing to the crime three times. Cope also claimed he had never met Sanders.

Cope also admitted he staged the crime scene and testified he was trying to act crazy to try to elude prosecution.

His lawyers claimed the confessions were coerced by overzealous police and the evidence pointed only at Sanders. Prosecutors alleged Cope had to let Sanders into his home for the crimes to happen.

The state Supreme Court upheld Cope’s conviction in a split decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case last year.

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Prosecutors: Rock Hill father convicted of rape, murder of daughter had adequate defense attorneys."