Governor sets execution dates for 8 Arkansas death row inmates – again

Governor sets execution dates for 8 Arkansas death row inmates – again

Hutchinson schedules state’s first lethal injections since 2005 for April

ralphhardin@gmail.com Calling it a “fulfillment of duty,” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is moving forward with carrying out the state’s first executions in over a decade. On Feb. 27, Gov. Hutchinson filed to set execution dates for eight Arkansas death row inmates, all of whom were convicted by Arkansas juries and sentenced to death.

After a careful review of information provided by the Attorney General, Hutchinson set the execution dates according to the date of conviction for each inmate. The first execution in Arkansas since 2005 is set to take place April 17. The crimes for which the inmates received their death sentences occurred, in some cases, more than 25 years ago.

Execution dates were set in the following cases: Bruce Ward — The judgment against Bruce Earl Ward, convicted of the August 11, 1989, murder of Rebecca Doss of Little Rock, will be carried out on April 17. Don Davis — The execution of Don William Davis, convicted of the Oct. 12, 1990, murder of Jane Daniel of Rogers, will be carried out on that same day.

Ledelle Lee — The judgment against Ledelle Lee, sentenced to death on Oct. 16, 1995, for the beating and strangling death of Debra Reese, 26, is set for April. 20. Stacey Johnson — Stacey Eugene Johnson, convicted in Sevier County of the April 1, 1993, murder of Carol Heath of DeQueen, will be executed the same day.

Marcel Williams —

Marcel Wayne Williams, convicted of the Nov. 20, 1994, murder of Stacy Errickson of Jacksonville, will have his sentence carried out on April 24. Jack Jones, Jr. — Jack Harold Jones, Jr., convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the June 6, 1995, murder of Mary Phillips of Searcy, is set for execution the same day.

Jason McGehee — Jason McGehee, who was convicted of the Aug. 19, 1996, murder of John Melbourne, Jr., of Harrison, is scheduled for execution April 27.

Kenneth Williams —

Kenneth Williams, who was convicted of the Oct. 3, 1999, murder of Cecil Boren of Grady, is set for the same date of execution as well.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week rejected the inmates' request to review a state court ruling that upheld Arkansas' lethal injection law. The state Supreme Court on Friday lifted the stay on its ruling, clearing the way for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to request the dates be set. This is the third time in two years that the state has scheduled the resumption of the death penalty in Arkansas. Most recently, in October 2015, the State Supreme Court postponed the executions citing concerns over the chemicals used to administer the lethal injections.

All of the criminal judgments and sentences of death, which have undergone review in state and federal court, are final. Arkansas, which carries out death sentences via lethal injection, halted executions in 2005 amid concerns over the quality and availability of the drugs used to administer the lethal injections. The last prisoner executed in the state was Eric Randall Nance, sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of Julie Heath, 18, of Malvern. Nance was put to death Nov. 28, 2005. There are currently 34 death row inmates in Arkansas awaiting execution, including Larry Jones, a Crittenden County man convicted of killing his wife and two children in 1998.

By Ralph Hardin