Ledell Lee was executed for murder 4 years ago Someone else s DNA has been found on the murder weapon cnn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Steve Brawner
What do you do if you’re an ambitious Republican, but Arkansas’ most desirable offices feature longtime incumbents running for reelection, or already have a seemingly unbeatable candidate, or in practice need you to be a lawyer?
Apparently, you run for lieutenant governor because so far it’s the most crowded and most interesting race in 2022.
The campaign became more interesting Monday with the candidate announcement of Washington County Judge Joseph Wood. He joined a Republican field that already included former Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Doyle Webb, state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, and Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe.
Kelly Hawes | CNHI News Indiana May 15, 2021
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is still holding out hope he made the right call.
“Whenever you make tough decisions, whenever you have to carry out the decision of a jury, you realize it’s been reviewed by the Supreme Court at every level,” he said. “They affirmed the convictions, and it’s my duty to carry out the law.”
Hutchinson was talking about the case of Ledell Lee, a man who was executed four years ago in the 1993 murder of his 26-year-old neighbor, Debra Reese. It was a crime Lee insisted to the very end he did not commit.
The Republican governor vetoed the SAFE Act but was over-ruled by the Republican majority in the state house. He did however, sign two other bills into law that impact the transgender community, including a ban on transgender women and girls competing in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity and a bill that allows medical workers to opt out of non-emergency services based on religious or moral objections.
When asked by CBC what he would say to families considering leaving the state because of the SAFE Act Hutchinson said: We value you; we want you to stay here. It s important to our workforce and the diversity we have. It saddens me, but I also understand the decisions that have to be made for health care purposes.