The 'big ask'
An insider's view of the legal maneuvers that freed the West Memphis Three.
by Mara Leveritt
Last November's Arkansas Supreme Court decision marked the first time any court had acknowledged a need to revisit any part of the controversial 1994 trials, let alone "all" of the evidence. It was a pivotal change, and others quickly followed.
Immediately after the court's ruling, won by San Francisco attorney Dennis Riordan, death-row inmate Damien Echols and his wife Lorri Davis startled supporters by hiring Stephen L. Braga, of Washington, D.C., as their team's new lead attorney. When Deborah Sallings, the Arkansas member of Echols' team, resigned at about the same time, Davis and Braga were left looking for another Arkansas lawyer to take her place amid preparations for the critical hearing the high court had ordered.
Davis said she and Braga approached many local attorneys, but found none willing to defend Echols, who was sentenced to death 17 years before for the murders of three West Memphis children. They were growing despondent when someone recommended they contact Little Rock attorney Patrick Benca.
"I met with Lorri and Steve right here in this office," Benca recalled this week, in the book-lined conference room of his 19th Century office on Broadway. "I was nervous. I really wanted the job. What defense attorney wouldn't want to be part of what was going on?"
When reminded that others declined, Benca said, "Yeah. I don't understand that."
One of the things Braga asked Benca was whether he had a good working relationship with David Raupp, the chief deputy to Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. Benca replied that he considered Raupp "a good attorney and a good guy," and that he'd "never had any problems with him." Benca added that he had known McDaniel for years — that the two had gone through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the UALR School of Law together.
Davis and Braga brought Benca onto the Echols defense team in late January. Like Braga, Benca agreed to work pro bono.
It took him about a month to get up to speed, reading all the records in the case—and watching the HBO documentary films. In early spring Benca emailed Braga: "I'm prepared. I'm ready to do whatever you need me to do."
Braga wanted help getting some records relating to the victims' autopsies. Benca contacted Raupp, who agreed to release some of them. Benca was working on obtaining the others, when, in early summer, the laboratory conducting new DNA tests on evidence from the 1993 murders began issuing its first results.
To the lawyers' disappointment, the scientific findings did not definitively point to a different assailant. But neither did they trace to Echols or his co-defendants, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. That absence of evidence underlined a fact that had been apparent in this case from the start: there never was any physical evidence — from the time of the murders to these new tests — that could be linked to the men in prison.
In July, while the lab was still conducting tests, Braga submitted a status report on the information received so far to Circuit Judge David L. Laser, who had been assigned to review the case. "At this point in time, we were trying to make some decisions," Benca said. He and Braga pondered the seemingly far-fetched idea of asking the state's attorneys to agree to skip the evidentiary hearing, which Laser had scheduled for December, by agreeing that new trials were warranted.
So far, everyone on the state side had fought tooth-and-nail to resist new trials for the men. But Braga and Benca thought there was a chance that neither they nor the defense teams would want to "waste all that time" going through an evidentiary hearing if, in the end, Laser was going to order new trials. That would require all sides to present the same evidence again — this time before juries — in one, two or even three trials — depending on what Laser ordered.
Speaking of...
-
State gets $5.1 million for Medicaid in settlement over adulterated drugs
May 14, 2013Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has announced that Arkansas will get $5.1 million, including federal matching funds, for its Medicaid program as part of the $500 million settlement of a lawsuit against Ranbaxy, a drug manufacturer in India that provided subpar generic drugs. /more/
-
TGIF line is open
May 3, 2013It's Friday. You're on. /more/
-
The open line
May 2, 2013Maryland has repealed the death penalty, the 18th state to do so. Same governor, Martin O'Malley, signed legislation to legalize gay marriage. /more/
-
Help sought for memorial to victims in West Memphis 3 case
April 21, 2013May 5 will mark the 20th anniversary of the slayings of three Arkansas children in what would come to be known internationally as the West Memphis Three case. /more/
-
Will Mayflower ever be the same after the Exxon spill?
April 11, 2013It's all fun and games until the world's richest corporation spills 200,000 gallons of goop in your backyard. /more/
-
McDaniel presses Exxon on oil spill info
April 4, 2013Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is pressing Exxon Mobil for information on the devastating oil spill in Mayflower. /more/
-
McDaniel to investigate Mayflower pipeline spill
April 2, 2013Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who's been something less than an environmental crusader to date, has announced that he'll investigate the Exxon Mobil pipeline spill that drenched a Mayflower neighborhood with thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian crude oil. /more/
-
The war on the poor continues
April 2, 2013Some odds and ends to start the day. * THE WAR ON THE POOR THROUGH PAYDAY LENDING: Is it really a surprise that a gang of Republican lawmakers is trying again to open the legal door to bring the blood-suckday payday lending industry back into Arkansas? /more/
-
West Memphis 3 case back in court
March 27, 2013A hearing is underway today on the continuing effort to get access to evidence in the closed West Memphis 3 murder case under the Freedom of Information Act. /more/
-
Evening roundup
March 18, 2013Some odds and ends have trickled in, so I'll round them up: * MARION BERRY: His family has sent a note to friends saying the former congressman went to UAMS with chest pains Saturday and had bypass surgery this afternoon. /more/
- More »
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
More by Mara Leveritt
-
A civil rights sequel
Maybe you read the article here about the battle to integrate the state Capitol cafeteria. That was in 1964. These days, we shake our heads at state officials who believed, even then, that a public facility inside the state Capitol could stay segregated forever.
- Mar 7, 2013
- More »
Readers also liked…
-
The Devil on trial
Some concluding thoughts on the state's most notorious murder case.
- Apr 7, 1994
-
Who are the West Memphis Three?
The Times' coverage of the case since 1994.
- Aug 19, 2011
-
Jason's choice
Friendship, freedom and a principled stand.
- Aug 24, 2011
Latest in Cover Stories
-
Ready for Riverfest
Good times start rolling Friday.
- May 23, 2013
-
Riverfest fast facts
Riverfest 2013 three-day discounted tickets will be available at select Walgreen's locations around the state. These tickets will be sold for $17.50 (while supplies last). Admission at the gates is $35 for a three-day pass, cash only. Online tickets can be purchased for $30.
- May 23, 2013
-
Live entertainment schedule
The Riverfest calendar.
- May 23, 2013
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Sister who opposed Faubus dies
Roy Reed is pretty good with facts, but not so good when he tries to…
- on May 24, 2013
-
Re: Sister who opposed Faubus dies
I'd just like to add my kudos to the chorus of compliments for the author…
- on May 24, 2013
-
Re: Sister who opposed Faubus dies
That last line is a tough one.
- on May 24, 2013
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
