Rodney “Cockeye” Stepp, 46, was shot and killed on his driveway in Martin County, Kentucky, in the early hours of December 6, 2017. Police officers responding to the scene arrested Stepp’s friend, Elwood “Woody” Six. Six was charged with second degree murder, but was later upgraded to first degree murder, according to WSAZ.
A&E explored the case for their show “Accused: Guilty or Innocent?” and followed Six in the months and weeks leading up to his trial, as viewers were presented with the question of whether Stepp’s shooting death it was an act of self defense. Viewers learned at the end of the episode that the jury found Six guilty of reckless manslaughter and he was sentenced to one year in prison.
Where is Elwood “Woody” Six today?
Six was convicted of reckless manslaughter and charged with 1 year in prison, but will likely be released on September 1, 2021
Six was in jail for five months after his arrest because it took some time to get his bail money, Bradley told Heavy, so when he was taken into custody after the July 2, 2021 verdict, he was already five months old. . Despite receiving a one-year sentence, most inmates only serve about seven and a half months due to good time credit, Bradley shared. Six, now 70, will likely be released on September 1, 2021.
Since Six did not receive a longer sentence, he was not transferred to state prison and show public records He is serving the remainder of his sentence in the Johnson County Jail, also known as the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
A major COVID-19 outbreak in Kentucky has Bradley worried about his client. Although he has been vaccinated, he told Heavy: “I just want to get him out of there.” The jail has had some positive cases and they have been isolated, he added, but he will not be able to rest until Six returns home to his family.
Bradley said they decided they will not appeal the verdict
Kentucky is a “stand-your-ground” self defense status, which is a self-defense law that allows people to protect themselves “against the use or imminent use of illegal physical force by the other person” in public. While some states are clear that individuals must also “retreat to safety” before using force, Kentucky’s Stand Your Ground law does not include that duty and allows individuals to use force, including deadly force, without try to withdraw.
That’s why Bradley said he was confident the jury would acquit him, but he told Heavy that he spoke to jurors after the verdict and they said it was a compromise, and many felt something had to be done because of the Stepp’s death. That is why they opted for the “lowest sentence with the lowest punishment,” he explained. The reckless manslaughter verdict meant that the jury felt Six overreacted and caused Stepp’s death despite the Stand Your Ground law.
Because of this, he told Heavy that he believes they have grounds to appeal, but after arguing with Six and his wife Joann, they decided not to file an appeal. She said Six didn’t want the case to “hang over his head” for several more years and just “wants to put it behind him.”
Six has taken the verdict well and spent his time in jail helping other inmates as a ‘father figure’
Six took the verdict well, Bradley told Heavy. “He was the one who calmed me down,” he said, and was “ready to accept whatever was presented to him.” Six’s wife, Joann, took it a little harder because she worried that he would be in jail, especially since he suffers from Parkinson’s disease and has diabetes.
Bradley said she made it a point to visit Six in jail at least once a week, while Joann was able to speak to her husband via video call from the jail lobby. “He’s in good spirits,” Bradley said, and Six sees himself as a “positive influence on the guys in jail” and a kind of “father figure.”
She said her hope is that the “Accused: guilty or innocent?” The episode will help clear up Six’s name and some of the misconceptions surrounding the case. “The rumors about what happened have been so wild and far-fetched,” Bradley explained, and the show will help clarify what happened. While Six has yet to have contact with his daughters, Bradley is hopeful that the episode will lead to positive developments.
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