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Thread: Zachary Dwayne Holly - Arkansas Death Row

  1. #31
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Holly's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Arkansas
    Case Numbers: (CR-15-899)
    Decision Date: June 1, 2017

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/17-6514.html

  2. #32
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Arkansas man on death row for raping, killing 6-year-old girl says attorneys ineffective at trial; hearing set

    Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren scheduled a July hearing to determine whether a Bentonville man on death row received ineffective legal representation at his trial for raping and killing a 6-year-old girl.

    Zachary Holly, 34, was convicted in 2015 of capital murder, kidnapping, rape and residential burglary. He was sentenced to death, two life terms and 20 years.

    A jury found Holly guilty of raping and killing Jersey Bridgeman.

    Holly is fighting his conviction and sentence. He filed a Rule 37 petition, which is a claim that he received ineffective assistance from his attorneys during his case.

    Karren held a short scheduling hearing Monday morning. The hearing was conducted by video with Holly at the prison and Michael Kaiser, Holly's attorney, in Little Rock.

    Kaiser told the judge that he expects to have Holly's final petition filed by the end of February.

    Stuart Cearley, Benton County's chief deputy prosecutor, requested 30 to 40 days to file a response to the final petition.

    The judge scheduled the hearing for July 29.

    Jersey's nude body was found Nov. 20, 2012, in the bedroom closet of an abandoned house next to Holly's home on Southeast A Street in Bentonville. She had been strangled to death with her pajama pants.

    Holly later confessed to police to killing the child and a recording of the confession was played to jurors during the trial. Prosecutors presented DNA evidence connecting Holly to the crime.

    Holly is currently being held on death row at Varner Supermax.

    https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/...-6-year-old-g/
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  3. #33
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    It's so sad what this beautiful 👼 endured the few years she was on this Earth

  4. #34
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Man convicted of killing Bentonville 6-year-old says he had improper counsel during trial

    A hearing held in Benton County Circuit Court on Monday discussed whether convicted killer and rapist Zachary Holly's attorneys were ineffective during his 2015 trial.

    On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, the jury found Holly guilty and sentenced him to death for murder, kidnapping, and rape after 6-year-old Jersey Bridgeman's body was found in a vacant house.

    Holly lived next door to Jersey in a trailer on SE A Street in Bentonville, and police found Jersey's body minutes after her mother reported her missing on Nov. 20, 2012. According to court records, Holly and his wife babysat the child while her parents worked the night she died.

    The prosecution argued that Holly kidnapped Jersey sometime after midnight, raped her, and strangled her to death. Holly was sentenced to the death penalty after he was found guilty during his 2015 trial in Benton County.

    In documents filed ahead of the hearing on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, Holly's lawyers argued that his trial attorneys were ineffective and that he had an unfair trial.

    They claim his trial lawyers should have gone deeper into the evidence surrounding Holly's childhood and how it affected his mental illness long-term. They say his trial lawyers erroneously did not provide an expert on the stand to testify about Holly's mother's alleged drug and alcohol use during her pregnancy with Holly, and how that impacted him.

    The lawyers also argue that his defense during the trial didn't obtain unredacted files from DHS which reportedly investigated sexual and physical abuse against Holly when he was a minor, according to filings.

    Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson Jr. explains "He's gone through the state appeals process, and now he's on a state rule 37 for ineffective assistance of counsel. After this, there may be some other avenues in federal court that he can try to explore. And he'll have every opportunity to do that. And once he's exhausted those possibilities, and the verdict and the sentence are upheld, then he'll be given an execution date."

    It's been over a decade since the crime happened and Robinson said the prosecutor's office has kept in contact with the victim's family. "It's hard to imagine the strain that this must be for them," Robinson said. "It's always a trying thing for victims' families to go through the exhaustive appeal process that just takes years and years. But we are going to keep showing up and keep fighting for Jersey every time there's a hearing that becomes appealed. We'll be here."

    https://www.5newsonline.com/article/...8-ec3e73d3135b
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  5. #35
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Appeal hearing questions effectiveness of Zachary Holly's defense in 2015 rape and murder case

    By Adam Roberts and Valerie Zhang
    KHBS News

    BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The effectiveness of Zachary Holly's defense in the 2015 rape and murder case of six-year-old Jersey Bridgeman is being questioned in an appeal hearing in Benton County court. Two doctors testified today in the second week of the hearing.

    Holly was sentenced to death in 2015 for the rape and murder of Bridgeman. However, his current legal team argues that more should have been done to show that Holly has brain damage. Prosecutors, on the other hand, argue that enough was done and are confident that the jury got it right the first time.

    The hearing has been ongoing for two weeks, and another witness is expected to testify tomorrow. After that, the court will not meet again until next week.

    The case of Jersey Bridgeman's rape and murder shocked the community in 2012. Holly, who was a neighbor of the Bridgeman family, was arrested and charged with the crime. During the trial, Holly's defense argued that he was coerced into confessing to the crime and that he had a low IQ, making him susceptible to manipulation by law enforcement.

    However, the prosecution argued that Holly's confession was voluntary and that he had a history of sexual misconduct. The jury ultimately found Holly guilty and sentenced him to death.

    Now, Holly's defense is arguing that more should have been done to show that he has brain damage, which could have affected his ability to understand his rights and make a voluntary confession. The defense is also arguing that Holly's trial attorney did not adequately investigate his mental health history.

    https://www.4029tv.com/article/zacha...ppeal/45758234
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