Attempted Manslaughter conviction upheld for Steuben man who ordered hit on wife

73-year-old Theodore Myers, formerly of Bath, will remain in the Wyoming Correctional facility. When he was sentenced to 1st degree attempted manslaughter in 2016, he signed a

valid waiver of the right to appeal, which included a waiver of the right to challenge both the “conviction and sentence.” Myers had offered to pay a man to kill his estranged wife.

His attorney later maintained that the plea was not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered. In a one-page decision, the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department said 'it rejected that contention.'

In its ruling, issued Friday, the Court said:

"Defendant failed to preserve for our review his challenge to the plea on the ground that it was not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered, and we reject his contention that this case falls within the rare exception to the preservation requirement set forth in People v Lopez (71 NY2d 662, 666 [1988]). Contrary to defendant’s contention, because he was indicted on a count of attempted murder in the first degree (§§ 110.00, 125.27 [1] [a] [vi]), which is a class A-I felony (see § 110.05 [1]), his plea was required to include a plea of guilty to at least a class C violent felony offense."
Myers is serving a ten year prison sentence. His first parole hearing will be November 2023. He'll be 78.