On March 20, Alice Wilson, a Philadelphia lesbian who lethally shot her wife in 2023, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years imprisonment, plus five years of probation.
Wilson, 60, fatally shot her wife Eileen Adams, 63, in May 2023 after an altercation involving a gun that Adams reportedly owned. According to defense papers, Wilson acted in self defense. But the District Attorney’s Office charged her with murder.
In September 2024, Common Pleas Judge J. Scott O’Keefe presided over Wilson’s one-day, non-jury trial. He announced his verdict of voluntary manslaughter after hearing testimony from several witnesses, including a relative of Adams and a forensic specialist.
Wilson didn’t testify during her trial but she spoke during her sentencing proceeding.
On March 20, O’Keefe imposed a 10-20 year prison sentence on Wilson despite her emphatic assertions that she acted in self-defense.
Douglas L. Dolfman, the sentencing attorney for Wilson, expressed disappointment with her sentence.
“I don’t think she deserved the maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter,” Dolfman told PGN. “That seemed excessive to me. I did everything I could for her. Alice Wilson was somebody who really gave of herself to society and to other people.”
Dolfman said Wilson acted uncharacteristically on the day she shot Adams.
“This shooting was not characteristic of [Wilson’s] behavior,” Dolfman continued. “She cared about other people a great deal and she cared about her wife. [In the past], she took in kids to mentor and raise. At the sentencing, she had lots of people come to support her and her humanitarian efforts.”
Dolfman said in his opinion the shooting of Adams was an accident that took place while both women struggled over a gun that Adams owned.
“This [shooting] was just something that escalated to a situation that it never should have gotten to,” Dolfman continued. “A dispute over money and property apparently spurred the argument.”
Dolfman expressed hope that Wilson will get her prison sentence reduced at some point in the future.
“I protected her post-sentence rights in this case,” he added. “Hopefully, Judge O’Keefe will consider my request for relief in this case.”
On March 24, Dolfman filed a post-sentence motion on behalf of Wilson challenging her conviction and sentencing.
“The defendant [Wilson] alleges that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence in that the commonwealth failed to prove to the court that the facts involved the elements of Voluntary Manslaughter and not self defense,” the motion states. “The defendant [Wilson] also alleges the sentence was excessive and that mitigation by the defense was not considered by the court in its weighing of sentencing factors. The defendant [Wilson] alleges trial counsel was ineffective for never meeting with the defendant in person before trial and failing to call any character witnesses on her behalf.”
On March 27, O’Keefe denied Wilson’s motion challenging her verdict and sentencing. However, Wilson will have future opportunities to challenge the outcome of her trial in state appellate courts.
According to court records, Wilson owes $2,329 in court costs, fees and restitution.
Adams was a 1978 graduate of Cardinal Dougherty High School and was employed for many years as director of respiratory therapy at Kindred Hospital. She is survived by two sons, Jonathan and Thomas, three sisters, and numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews, according to her obituary.
A spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner declined to comment for this story.