If Wilburn Wiley Dobbs came to court Monday, his lawyer said, he would have to bring a catheter with him.
So Dobbs will skip his scheduled appearance in his resentencing in the killing of Roy Lee Sizemore, an assistant for Atlanta defense attorney Michael McIntyre confirmed Friday.
Dobbs, who received the death penalty in Sizemore's death 40 years ago, was due in Walker County Superior Court for one last pretrial hearing this week before the new sentencing hearing is held at some point in the future.
Judge Kristina Cooke Graham scheduled Monday's hearing on Aug. 25, one week after the Times Free Press featured Dobbs in an article about three convicted murderers in Walker County. All had been sentenced to death and later were awarded new hearings on their sentences.
Dobbs' ruling came in 1998, when the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said his attorney did not try hard enough during the original hearing.
But 16 years later Dobbs still hasn't had that hearing. His case has lingered, in part because his lawyers delayed giving District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin files that both sides would use in the case.
Franklin did not press the issue, never filing anything in court to demand that Dobbs' attorneys provide the necessary documents.
After Graham set the date for the final pretrial hearing, McIntyre asked for an indefinite delay, saying his client is in no condition to go to court.
According to McIntyre's motion, Dobbs needs surgery to remove his prostate, and he has a leaking heart valve and an abnormally slow heart rate.
McIntyre said that Dobbs has to take a stress test to make sure his heart is healthy enough for the prostate surgery.
He had not taken the test as of Oct. 29, when McIntyre filed his motion.
Until the surgery, the attorney said, his client will remain hooked to a catheter.
"The presently scheduled hearing is incompatible with the defendant's immediate medical needs," he wrote in his motion before Graham indefinitely pushed the hearing back.
Graham did not return a call seeking comment Friday, and Franklin did not return an email.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757- 6476 or attjett@timesfreepress.com