Guilty plea OK for Mich. woman in husband's death

BAY CITY (AP) -- The Michigan appeals court has reinstated the murder conviction of a Bay County woman who repeatedly shot her husband in the back. A judge had allowed Rebecca Shimel to withdraw her guilty plea to second-degree murder, saying her lawyer was ineffective. But the appeals court overturned that decision in an opinion released Wednesday. Shimel says her lawyer did a poor job by not fully exploring a battered-spouse defense and explaining the plea deal in 2011. But the appeals court says evidence of abuse was thin. The court says Shimel probably wouldn't have received a better outcome if she'd gone to trial. She was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison for Rodney Shimel's death. Published: Fri, Aug 9, 2013