YOUNG DEFENDERS RELY ON THEIR ZEAL
Date: Sunday, January 16, 1994
Source: By Bartholomew Sullivan The Commercial Appeal
Attorneys for the defense in the Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. murder trial are passionate in their belief an innocent, retarded kid is being led to a rendezvous with Arkansas's ultimate weapon, lethal injection.
In one of the most notorious murder cases in recent Mid-South memory, Daniel T. Stidham and Gregory L. Crow of Paragould have sacrificed their energies in an uphill battle against their client's 27-page statement to police. In it, the tough, gasoline-sniffing juvenile delinquent allegedly admitted being present when the murders of three West Memphis 8-year-olds occurred.
Misskelley, 18, goes on trial Tuesday in Corning before Circuit Judge David Burnett.
"Our defense is that it's a false confession and that it was psychologically coerced," said Stidham.
"We don't believe the state has any evidence except this wild story Jessie made up."
They said the police botched their investigation of the crime, and plan to
put the West Memphis Police Department's case on trial.
"The world has a right to know what kind of investigation these cops pulled," said Stidham. "We're going to be criticizing them, to say the least."
Both lawyers grew up in Paragould, a town of 18,540 about 90 miles north of Memphis, although Stidham was born in Chicago. They didn't know each other well in high school or at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Law School, but they teamed up a few years ago to become Stidham & Crow. The two-man, two- paralegal firm is one of 10 law firms in Greene County.
Most of their practice is done in the 105-year-old courthouse in the center of town. They are two of three Greene County public defenders representing indigent criminal defendants.
Both about 6-1 and 250 pounds, the defense team looks like the solid half of a defensive line.
Both the fathers of small children, they declined to talk about their families, citing death threats in the bizarre case that police have linked to a satanic cult.
The two 30-year-old lawyers admit being sensitive about their ages and their lack of murder trial experience, but said their zeal and dedication made up for any lack of trial experience.
Stidham has worked researching or drafting legal briefs on four murder cases, including two in law school, but this is the first capital murder defense either lawyer has handled in his own right.
Crow, who was a law clerk to the late Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Billings after law school, practiced in Fort Smith before deciding to come home to Paragould. Crow said he concentrates on research, Stidham on trial strategy.
Stidham was in the news statewide in 1989 when he represented a 31-year-old man on probation for forging drug prescriptions. The probationer hired Stidham to get a single condition of his probation removed - the one prohibiting him from associating with known criminals, in this case, his fiance. The couple split up before the issue was resolved.
But the press attention in those cases was nothing compared to Misskelley's legal defense, he said.
Pressures both legal and personal have dogged them in the seven months since they were appointed June 7.
"A lot of people criticized us for getting involved in this but we basically had no choice," said Stidham.
Among the nagging non-legal issues: They don't know who's going to pay them for the more than 600 hours they've spent on the case. Both the Arkansas attorney general's office and Crittenden County have filed briefs contending the other should get the bill.
Stidham said the crush of publicity was "kind of cute at first," but now, he said, "I wish I could climb under a rock. We never dreamed we'd have to deal with the media like we have. I'm looking forward to becoming myself again."
They are particularly sour on Memphis television reporter Paul Morrison of WMC-Channel 5, who recorded a private conversation between their client and his father, then put it on the air. Their client was never aware he was being tape recorded, Stidham said.
Stidham described Morrison as "a maggot (who) makes things up," with "no ethics, no scruples." Morrison declined comment on the characterization.
Stidham said his client's father, also named Jessie Misskelley, did not help his son with his "daily press conferences."
"Finally, I had to say, 'Hey, you're killing your son,' " said Stidham. ''We finally got him to understand he wasn't helping."
"Only John Grisham could have come up with something like this," he said.
Date: Sunday, January 16, 1994
Source: By Bartholomew Sullivan The Commercial Appeal
Attorneys for the defense in the Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. murder trial are passionate in their belief an innocent, retarded kid is being led to a rendezvous with Arkansas's ultimate weapon, lethal injection.
In one of the most notorious murder cases in recent Mid-South memory, Daniel T. Stidham and Gregory L. Crow of Paragould have sacrificed their energies in an uphill battle against their client's 27-page statement to police. In it, the tough, gasoline-sniffing juvenile delinquent allegedly admitted being present when the murders of three West Memphis 8-year-olds occurred.
Misskelley, 18, goes on trial Tuesday in Corning before Circuit Judge David Burnett.
"Our defense is that it's a false confession and that it was psychologically coerced," said Stidham.
"We don't believe the state has any evidence except this wild story Jessie made up."
They said the police botched their investigation of the crime, and plan to
put the West Memphis Police Department's case on trial.
"The world has a right to know what kind of investigation these cops pulled," said Stidham. "We're going to be criticizing them, to say the least."
Both lawyers grew up in Paragould, a town of 18,540 about 90 miles north of Memphis, although Stidham was born in Chicago. They didn't know each other well in high school or at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Law School, but they teamed up a few years ago to become Stidham & Crow. The two-man, two- paralegal firm is one of 10 law firms in Greene County.
Most of their practice is done in the 105-year-old courthouse in the center of town. They are two of three Greene County public defenders representing indigent criminal defendants.
Both about 6-1 and 250 pounds, the defense team looks like the solid half of a defensive line.
Both the fathers of small children, they declined to talk about their families, citing death threats in the bizarre case that police have linked to a satanic cult.
The two 30-year-old lawyers admit being sensitive about their ages and their lack of murder trial experience, but said their zeal and dedication made up for any lack of trial experience.
Stidham has worked researching or drafting legal briefs on four murder cases, including two in law school, but this is the first capital murder defense either lawyer has handled in his own right.
Crow, who was a law clerk to the late Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Billings after law school, practiced in Fort Smith before deciding to come home to Paragould. Crow said he concentrates on research, Stidham on trial strategy.
Stidham was in the news statewide in 1989 when he represented a 31-year-old man on probation for forging drug prescriptions. The probationer hired Stidham to get a single condition of his probation removed - the one prohibiting him from associating with known criminals, in this case, his fiance. The couple split up before the issue was resolved.
But the press attention in those cases was nothing compared to Misskelley's legal defense, he said.
Pressures both legal and personal have dogged them in the seven months since they were appointed June 7.
"A lot of people criticized us for getting involved in this but we basically had no choice," said Stidham.
Among the nagging non-legal issues: They don't know who's going to pay them for the more than 600 hours they've spent on the case. Both the Arkansas attorney general's office and Crittenden County have filed briefs contending the other should get the bill.
Stidham said the crush of publicity was "kind of cute at first," but now, he said, "I wish I could climb under a rock. We never dreamed we'd have to deal with the media like we have. I'm looking forward to becoming myself again."
They are particularly sour on Memphis television reporter Paul Morrison of WMC-Channel 5, who recorded a private conversation between their client and his father, then put it on the air. Their client was never aware he was being tape recorded, Stidham said.
Stidham described Morrison as "a maggot (who) makes things up," with "no ethics, no scruples." Morrison declined comment on the characterization.
Stidham said his client's father, also named Jessie Misskelley, did not help his son with his "daily press conferences."
"Finally, I had to say, 'Hey, you're killing your son,' " said Stidham. ''We finally got him to understand he wasn't helping."
"Only John Grisham could have come up with something like this," he said.
