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Thread: Kenneth Reams - Arkansas

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    Kenneth Reams - Arkansas




    Facts of the Crime:

    Sentenced to die on December 16, 1993 for the May 5, 1993 shooting death of Gary Turner in Pine Bluffs. He and a friend, Alford Goodwin, looking for quick money, had waited for a target by an ATM machine at Fifth and Chestnut streets in Pine Bluff. A similar scheme had failed the previous week when an ATM user floored the gas before Goodwin and Reams could get to him. This time the pair, with a .32 pistol in tow, were determined to get what they wanted. And though it was not in the plan to kill someone, that's what happened when Goodwin, who handled the weapon, demanded cash from the driver, Gary Turner. Turner resisted and was murdered by the duo.

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    Inmate Personal Information

    DOB: 12/21/1974
    Race: Black
    Gender: Male

    Crime and Trial Information

    * County of conviction: Jefferson
    * Number of counts: One
    * Race of Victim: White
    * Gender of Victim: Male
    * Date of crime: 05/05/1993
    * Date of Sentencing: 12/16/1993

    Legal Status

    Current proceedings:
    Post‐conviction proceedings

    Attorneys

    Miriam Gohara
    Christina Swarns
    NAACP Legal Defense Fund

    Court Opinions

    Roberts v. State, 102 S.W.3d 482 (Ark. 2003) (affirming conviction and sentence); State v. Roberts, 123 S.W.3d 881 (Ark. 2003) (affirming trial court's finding that Mr. Roberts is competent and approval of request to waive Rule 37 remedies); Roberts v. Norris, 415 F.3d 816 (8th Cir. 2005) (dismissing appeal of district court's stay of execution); Roberts v. Norris, 526 F.Supp.2d 926 (E.D. Ark. Dec. 13, 2007) (staying a mixed habeas petition to allow the petitioner to present in state court his unexhausted claims that he did not competently waive his right to appeal).

    Legal Issues

    On direct appeal:
    (1) whether defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his right to a state appeal;
    (2) whether a false promise of leniency rendered defendant's confession involuntary;
    (3) whether evidence established the murder was committed in especially cruel or depraved manner, as aggravating circumstance at penalty phase; and
    (4) whether the fact that jury left portions of verdict form blank did not establish that jury failed to follow fundamental safeguards at penalty phase.

    In post‐conviction proceedings:
    (1) Mr. Roberts' competence to waive appellate and post‐conviction remedies

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Kenneth Reams v. State of Arkansas

    Death penalty reversed in Pine Bluff killing for ineffective defense

    The Arkansas Supreme Court today reversed the death penalty given Kenneth Reams by a Jefferson County jury in the 1993 shooting death of Gary Turner during a robbery at an ATM machine. The court said Reams had ineffective counsel during the penalty phase of the trial.

    The decision was 5-2, with Justices Rhonda Wood and Shawn Womack dissenting. Justice Jo Hart concurred with the majority in .

    A co-defendant in the case, Alford Goodwin, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison before Reams went to trial. Reams' attorney failed to get Goodwin's testimony in support of Reams' defense that Goodwin shot Turner, not Reams.

    The Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's finding in the appeal by Reams for post-conviction relief. From the opinion:

    Throughout the trial, trial counsel’s theory was that Goodwin had shot and killed Turner. Despite this defense theory, trial counsel testified at the Rule 37 hearing that he could not talk to Goodwin because Goodwin was represented by counsel. Trial counsel testified that he did not recall whether he had approached counsel for Goodwin but that he did not have a good working relationship with Goodwin’s counsel. Trial counsel further testified that “[he didn’t] know when [Goodwin] pled in relation to [Reams’s] trial.”

    Based on the above testimony and in light of the defense’s theory that Goodwin shot Turner, there is no strategic reason not to at least investigate and attempt to present Goodwin at trial to corroborate Reams’s defense that he was not the shooter. Accordingly, we hold that trial counsel’s failure to at least attempt to present Goodwin’s testimony during the penalty phase of trial constitutes deficient performance.


    The case was returned to Circuit Court for a new determination of penalty.

    https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlo...defense-lawyer
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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