THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
MISSKELLEY'S LAWYERS PLAN TO FIGHT DNA-SAMPLE EFFORTS
June 26, 1993
By: Bartholomew Sullivan
Page: B1
Defense lawyers representing a teenager charged in the West Memphis triple-murder case will contest the state's efforts to obtain blood, saliva and hair samples from their clients, they said Friday.
Lawyers for defendant Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. filed a motion in Crittenden County Circuit Court on Friday, stating that compliance with the state's request would be "an unreasonable intrusion" and would violate his constitutional rights.
If blood samples were recovered, crime lab specialists could test to establish whether the samples are from the same DNA as semen found at the crime scene.
In an interview, Misskelley's lawyer Greg Crow of Paragould said he would assert his client's right to due process and privacy, but declined to elaborate.
Misskelley's other lawyer, Daniel Stidham, said this week that "logic would dictate" that the state has evidence it wants to compare with his client's samples.
Jonesboro lawyer Val P. Price, representing defendant Michael Wayne Echols, said he has not decided how he will respond to the state's motion. He declined comment on the state of the physical evidence.
Lawyers for defendant Charles Jason Baldwin said they believe the state has failed to establish a connection between their client and the deaths of 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.
Baldwin's lawyer, Paul N. Ford of Jonesboro, said there was not enough of a connection legally between the statement Jessie Misskelley gave police and Baldwin's alleged involvement in the crime.
Misskelley told police June 3 that he helped lure the youngsters into the heavily wooded Robin Hood Park on May 5 and watched as co-defendants Baldwin and Echols brutalized them with a stick and 6-inch knife. He said that at least one of the victims was sodomized.
Most states allow DNA comparison testing, but its admissibility as evidence in court proceedings differs by state.
Saliva is used to determine a donor's "secretor status," or whether the person tested can communicate a genetic blueprint through body fluids other than blood.
The state filed a motion last week seeking the samples, as well as fingerprints and footprints, stating the request complied with terms of Arkansas's Rules of Criminal Procedure. The law permits the state to request such information when it does not involve and unreasonable intrusion.
Prosecutor John N. Fogleman said he would have nothing to say about the defense lawyers' responses.
MISSKELLEY'S LAWYERS PLAN TO FIGHT DNA-SAMPLE EFFORTS
June 26, 1993
By: Bartholomew Sullivan
Page: B1
Defense lawyers representing a teenager charged in the West Memphis triple-murder case will contest the state's efforts to obtain blood, saliva and hair samples from their clients, they said Friday.
Lawyers for defendant Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. filed a motion in Crittenden County Circuit Court on Friday, stating that compliance with the state's request would be "an unreasonable intrusion" and would violate his constitutional rights.
If blood samples were recovered, crime lab specialists could test to establish whether the samples are from the same DNA as semen found at the crime scene.
In an interview, Misskelley's lawyer Greg Crow of Paragould said he would assert his client's right to due process and privacy, but declined to elaborate.
Misskelley's other lawyer, Daniel Stidham, said this week that "logic would dictate" that the state has evidence it wants to compare with his client's samples.
Jonesboro lawyer Val P. Price, representing defendant Michael Wayne Echols, said he has not decided how he will respond to the state's motion. He declined comment on the state of the physical evidence.
Lawyers for defendant Charles Jason Baldwin said they believe the state has failed to establish a connection between their client and the deaths of 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.
Baldwin's lawyer, Paul N. Ford of Jonesboro, said there was not enough of a connection legally between the statement Jessie Misskelley gave police and Baldwin's alleged involvement in the crime.
Misskelley told police June 3 that he helped lure the youngsters into the heavily wooded Robin Hood Park on May 5 and watched as co-defendants Baldwin and Echols brutalized them with a stick and 6-inch knife. He said that at least one of the victims was sodomized.
Most states allow DNA comparison testing, but its admissibility as evidence in court proceedings differs by state.
Saliva is used to determine a donor's "secretor status," or whether the person tested can communicate a genetic blueprint through body fluids other than blood.
The state filed a motion last week seeking the samples, as well as fingerprints and footprints, stating the request complied with terms of Arkansas's Rules of Criminal Procedure. The law permits the state to request such information when it does not involve and unreasonable intrusion.
Prosecutor John N. Fogleman said he would have nothing to say about the defense lawyers' responses.
