Misskelley attorney says his counsel underfunded
Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
JONESBORO — One of the public defenders appointed to represent a man convicted in the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis 8-year-olds testified Monday that he believed he didn’t have enough money to provide adequate counsel.
Greg Crow, who represented Jessie Misskelley during his 1994 capital murder trial, testified during a hearing in Craighead County Circuit Court to determine the efficiency of Misskelley’s attorneys during his trial. Crow said he and co-counsel Dan Stidham couldn’t afford to hire some witnesses such as DNA and forensic experts to testify on Misskelley’s behalf.
“We prefaced everything [when asking experts to testify ] that we ‘can’t promise we’ll get you travel expenses, ’” Crow said.
At that time, defense attorneys submitted requests for payment to Crittenden County, where the crime occurred.
Crow told 2 nd Judicial District Prosecutor Brent Davis on cross examination, though, that he hired one of the “best in the world” experts to prove that a confession Misskelley made to police when arrested was inaccurate.
Crow also said he and Stidham hired a jury consultant for Misskelley’s trial and spent money to move his trial from Crittenden County to Clay County in February 1994.
Misskelley was sentenced to life in prison for the May 5, 1993, killings of Michael Moore, Christopher Byers and Steve Branch. Jason Baldwin also received life in prison, and Damien Echols was sentenced to die by lethal injection.
Last week, Paul Ford, Baldwin’s attorney, also testified that a lack of funds limited his defense strategy.
Kermit Channell, the executive director of the state Crime Lab, testified earlier Monday that blood found on a necklace taken from Echols’ home when he was arrested in June 1993 contained blood types consistent with samples taken from him, Baldwin and Branch.
The necklace was not allowed in Echols’ trial as evidence in 1994 because Circuit Court Judge David Burnett said then that it would take too long to test the blood and it could result in a mistrial.
Forensic expert Patricia Zajac testified that Channell, who conducted forensic tests in 1993 on evidence taken from where the three boys were found dead, did not conduct testing the same way she would.
“There were statements of interpretations that I would not agree with,” said the professor at California State University in Hayward, Calif. “I would have gone back and tested some things again.”
Stidham is expected to testify today.
Misskelley did not take the stand and won’t, his attorneys said.
Because of scheduling conflicts with Misskelley’s and Baldwin’s attorneys, testimony will end today and resume at a later date.
“This could go on into next year,” said Burnett, who is retiring from the bench Dec. 31.
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