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As a convicted murderer, Damien Echols is plainly entitled to evidentiary DNA tests that could prove his innocence, lawyers for the so-called West Memphis Three's most prominent figure argued Monday in a pleading to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
A story in the Dec. 1 issue incorrectly indicated the reason Zachary Vermillion was given 15 additional years in prison as a firearm enhancement to his 10-year sentence for manslaughter in the Jan. 6, 2021, death of Tony Jones. Vermillion was given the sentence because he was charged with possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony crime, according to Sarah Simone, a paralegal for Patrick Benca, who represented Vermillion. Vermillion was not previously convicted of a felony.
A Jefferson County man will spend the next 25 years in state prison after being convicted of killing another man nearly two years ago just outside Pine Bluff.
As hearings in federal court continue to situate defendants in a wide-ranging investigation into gang violence and drug trafficking in Central Arkansas, a Dumas man was ordered to remain in jail until his case is resolved and a Texas woman was allowed to remain free on bond after being released by a federal judge in Texas earlier this week.
A former Craighead County clerk was sentenced to 57 months in prison by a federal judge Wednesday for stealing more than $1.5 million in county funds that he diverted to his own use during the first six months of 2020.