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Thread: Ledell Lee - Arkansas Execution - April 20, 2017

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    Ledell Lee - Arkansas Execution - April 20, 2017




    Facts of the Crime:

    Sentenced to death on October 16, 1995 for the February 9, 1993 beating and strangling death of Debra Reese, 26, in the Sunnyside addition, where he had attacked several other women. He was also convicted of raping two Jacksonville women and was tried for the murder of Christine Lewis, daughter of the late Alderman Robert Lewis. Lee was also suspected of killing a Jacksonville prostitute and dumping her body in a shed near the railroad tracks.

    Lewis, 22, was abducted from her Sunnyside home in November 1989 as her three-year-old child watched. She was raped and strangled and her body dumped in the closet of an abandoned home. The jury could not agree on a verdict in that trial, but prosecutors decided not to retry him when he received the death sentence in the Reese case and was convicted for raping two women. DNA evidence tied Lee to the murders and rapes. Reese was struck 36 times with a tire tool her husband gave her for protection while he was out of town on a truck driving job. Lee, who had just been paroled after serving time for burglary, was arrested an hour after the murder when witnesses reported seeing him walking the street.

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    May 7, 2009

    Ark. Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence For Lee

    The Arkansas Supreme Court has rejected a death-row inmate's appeal that his sentence be overturned.

    Ledell Lee was sentenced to die for the Feb. 9, 1993, beating death of 26-year-old Debra Reese in Jacksonville. Reese was struck 36 times with a tire tool her husband gave her for protection while he was out of town on a truck driving job.

    Lee, who has filed multiple appeals, argued his lawyers failed to offer alibi witnesses on his behalf and had a conflict of interest. Lee also argued his lawyers should have objected when prosecutors referred to him as "a hunter" during closing arguments.

    Lee, 43, is being held at the state's Varner Unit.

    http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=84678

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    Inmate Personal Information

    DOB: 07/31/1965
    Race: Black
    Gender: Male

    Crime and Trial Information

    * County of conviction: Pulaski
    * Number of counts: One
    * Race of Victim: White
    * Gender of Victim: Female
    * Date of crime: 02/09/1993
    * Date of Sentencing: 10/16/1995

    Legal Status

    Current proceedings:
    Habeas petition pending in E.D. Ark.

    Attorneys

    Deborah Sallings
    Kent Gipson
    Gary Brotherton

    Court Opinions

    Lee v. State, 942 S.W.2d 231 (Ark.), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1002 (1997); Lee v. State, 38 S.W.3d 334 (Ark. 2001) (affirming denial of post‐conviction relief); Lee v. State, 23S.W.3d 52 (2006) (recalling the mandate due to post‐conviction counsel's incompetency because of an alcohol abuse problem); Lee v. State, 308 S.W.3d 596 (Ark.) (affirming denial of post‐conviction relief), cert. denied, 130 S.Ct. 555 (2009).

    Legal Issues

    In 2009 post‐conviction proceedings:
    (1) whether the following constituted ineffective assistance of counsel: (i) failure to call alibi witnesses; (ii) failure to engage services of a mitigation specialist; (iii) failing to call defendant's mother and sister during penalty phase;
    (iv) opening door to in‐court identification of defendant by alleged rape victim; and
    (v) failure to seek independent laboratory testing of DNA samples was not ineffective assistance of counsel
    In first post‐conviction proceeding, 38 S.W.3d 334 (2001):
    (1) conflict of interest stemming from Mr. Lee's pending lawsuits and ineffectiveness proceedings against attorneys Simpson and Quals stemming from three separate criminal cases (the resulting convictions of which were used as aggravating circumstances), and trial judge's refusal to relieve these attorneys of service
    (2) trial counsels' refusal to call alibi witnesses at Mr. Lee's request, when such witnesses had been presented at an earlier trial that resulted in a hung jury, and even though counsel promised in opening statement that alibi evidence would be presented
    (3) trial judge's ongoing extramarital affair with prosecuting attorney, and failure to disclose this affair or recuse

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    On November 2, 2001, Lee filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/ark...1cv00377/50684

    On June 18, 2013, Lee's habeas petition was DENIED.

    http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal...0377/50684/115

    On February 19, 2014, Lee filed an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir...ts/ca8/14-1363

  5. #5
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    It seems that his appeal was denied by the 8th Circuit Court on September 22, 2014, but I can't find the decision on the 8th Circuit site.

    Nevertheless his case is distributed for conference on October 9 in front of SCOTUS.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/search.a...es/14-9470.htm

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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Lee's petition for certiorari.

    Docketed: April 24, 2015
    Linked with 14A728
    Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
    Case Nos.: (14-1363)
    Decision Date: September 22, 2014
    Rehearing Denied: November 21, 2014

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/search.a...es/14-9470.htm

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    Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson set the execution dates for eight Arkansas death row inmates on Monday (Feb. 27).

    The eight inmates have all been convicted of capital murder.

    “This action is necessary to fulfill the requirement of the law, but it is also important to bring closure to the victims’ families who have lived with the court appeals and uncertainty for a very long time,” Hutchinson said.

    The execution dates were set as follows:

    Kenneth Williams – April 27, 2017
    Bruce Ward – April 17, 2017
    Stacey Johnson – April 20, 2017
    Don Williamson Davis – April 17, 2017
    Ledell Lee – April 20, 2017
    Jack Harold Jones – April 24, 2017
    Jason McGehee – April 27, 2017
    Marcel Williams – April 24, 2017

    http://5newsonline.com/2017/02/27/ar...h-row-inmates/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Inmates ask Arkansas court to void orders setting execution dates

    Attorneys for eight Arkansas death row inmates scheduled to be put to death next month are asking the state's highest court to invalidate the proclamations scheduling their executions, arguing that a stay is still in place.

    The inmates asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to void Gov. Asa Hutchinson's orders setting their execution dates. Hutchinson on Monday set four double executions during a 10-day period in April, though the state is lacking one of the drugs needed to put them to death.

    The inmates' attorneys say a stay blocking the executions is still in place while an amended complaint challenging Arkansas' lethal injection law is pending in a Pulaski County court. The state Monday asked the state to clarify that the stay on executions had been lifted.

    http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2...=news-arkansas
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Clemency hearings set for 5 death row inmates

    The Arkansas Parole Board scheduled clemency hearings for five of the eight inmates scheduled to be executed in April.

    According to the Arkansas Department of Correction, clemency hearings have been set for Stacey Johnson and Ledelle Lee on March 24; Marcell Williams on March 27; and Kenneth Williams and Jason McGehee on March 31.

    In February, Gov. Asa Hutchinson set the execution dates for eight inmates on death row, saying it was required by law.

    Hutchinson set the following execution dates:

    Don Williams Davis - April 17

    Bruce Earl Ward - April 17

    Ledelle Lee - April 20

    Stacey Eugene Johnson - April 20

    Jack Harold Jones - April 24

    Marcel Williams - April 24

    Kenneth D. Williams - April 27

    Jason F. McGehee - April 27

    Arkansas hasn't executed an inmate since 2005 due to legal challenges and issues getting execution drugs.

    http://katv.com/news/local/clemency-...th-row-inmates
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

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    Arkansas inmates set to die Thursday say they're innocent

    Lawyers for Arkansas inmates condemned to die Thursday in a planned double execution insist they are innocent and one of them says advanced DNA techniques could show he didn't kill a woman in 1993.

    Their strategy to win stays of execution is in marked contrast to the first two inmates who faced the death chamber in Arkansas and were spared Monday by arguing they should not be put to death because of mental health issues.

    Arkansas officials are vowing to press ahead with the Thursday executions despite the setback to plans to resume capital punishment after a 12-year hiatus.

    Gov. Asa Hutchinson originally set out an aggressive schedule of eight lethal injections in 11 days that would have marked the most inmates put to death by a state in such a short period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state set the compressed schedule because its supply of one of the lethal injection drugs expires at the end of April.

    One of the inmates set to die Thursday, Stacey Johnson, says advanced DNA techniques could show that he didn't kill Carol Heath, a 25-year-old mother of two, in 1993 at her DeQueen apartment. The other inmate scheduled for Thursday, Ledell Lee, argued unsuccessfully Tuesday in a Little Rock courtroom that he be given a chance to test blood and hair evidence that could prove he didn't beat 26-year-old Debra Reese to death during a 1993 robbery in Jacksonville. An appeal is possible.

    Lawyers are known to make multiple arguments to save their clients' lives in the final hours before execution. The state and its lawyers say the inmates are seeking any legal approach they can find in their efforts to avoid death.

    "It is understandable that the inmates are taking every step possible to avoid the sentence of the jury; however, it is the court's responsibility to administer justice and bring conclusion to litigation," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday in an emailed statement. "It is that process that we are seeing played out day by day, and we expect it to continue.

    "My job as governor is to work with the attorney general to make sure that justice is accomplished and the law of Arkansas is carried out, and that's what we're working every day to accomplish," he said.

    Don Davis and Bruce Ward were supposed to be the first two executed. They won stays from the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday after lawyers argued their mental health issues were similar enough to those raised in an Alabama case going before the U.S. Supreme Court next week.

    The execution of a third inmate, Jason McGehee, had been set for April 27, but a federal judge put it on hold earlier this month, saying McGehee was entitled to a 30-day comment period after the Arkansas Parole Board told the governor that the inmate's clemency request had merit.

    That leaves five men set for execution in an eight-day period starting Thursday. It's the quickest timetable in Arkansas since 1926, though state officials say waiting more than two decades to put some of the killers to death could hardly be characterized as swift.

    "The families have waited far too long to see justice, and I will continue to make that a priority," Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said late Monday.

    Lawyers for the inmates set to be executed Thursday are relying primarily on claims the men are innocent. Johnson's attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, wants a court to order new DNA testing on hair found in the victim's apartment and on clothing that prosecutors found at a rest stop and linked to Johnson.

    "That's something we had sought from the state and federal courts and had been denied, and we're making another run at it and showing that there are new techniques that came into effect literally this year that can provide results that can bear on the case," Rosenzweig said.

    Rosenzweig also represents two other inmates scheduled to die this month - Jack Jones and Kenneth Williams. He said neither man would raise innocence claims. They instead will rely again on whether the sedative midazolam could present a risk of cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

    In addition to Lee's innocence claim, his lawyers want to know whether their client has an intellectual disability that wasn't properly investigated during his trials.

    "Mr. Lee has never had the opportunity to have his case truly investigated, despite serious questions about guilt, and his intellectual disability," Lee's attorney, Cassandra Stubbs, said.

    Separate from the inmates' legal challenges, a handful of drug companies are saying they don't want their products used in the executions. Two pharmaceutical companies filed a court brief last week asking a federal judge to block Arkansas from using their drugs, but the judge did not rule on that issue.

    The medical supplier McKesson Corp. refiled its lawsuit Tuesday before a judge in Pulaski County. McKesson seeks an order that would force prison officials to return the company's supply of vecuronium bromide, one of three drugs used in the state's lethal injection protocol.

    http://www.wlox.com/story/35183678/a...heyre-innocent
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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