David Burnett (politician)
| David Burnett | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Arkansas Senate from the 22nd district |
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Assumed office January 14, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Jeremy Hutchinson |
| Member of the Arkansas Senate from the 15th district |
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In office January 10, 2011 – January 10, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Steve Bryles |
| Succeeded by | David J. Sanders |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sonja Burnett |
| Residence | Osceola, Arkansas, USA |
| Alma mater | University of Arkansas (B.S. 1963, J.D. 1966) |
| Occupation | Judge, Lawyer |
| Website | [1] |
David Burnett (born 1942 or 1943) is a Democratic member of the Arkansas State Senate, formerly from District 15, which prior to 2013 comprised Mississippi and Poinsett counties in eastern Arkansas. Before he entered the Senate, Burnett had been a judge. Burnett is notable for being the original trial judge of the West Memphis Three case.
Burnett was the presiding judge in the murder trials of Jesse Misskelley, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, collectively known as the West Memphis Three. In February 1994 after a jury convicted Misskelley of one court of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, Burnett sentenced Miskelley, then 18 years old, to life in prison plus 40 years. In March 1994 after a jury convicted Echols and Baldwin of three counts of capital murder, Burnett sentenced Echols to death and Baldwin, 17 at the time, to life in prison without parole.
In 2007, new DNA testing became available that was technologically possible at the time of the crime, and produced evidence that hairs found at the crime scene did not match Misskelley, Baldwin or Echols and possibly matched the stepfather of one of the victims. Based on this, all three defendants asked Burnett for a new trail. In September 2008, Burnett denied retrials for all three saying the new evidence was "inconclusive".
In September 2008, attorney (now judge) Daniel Stidham, who represented Misskelley in 1994, testified at a postconviction relief hearing. Stidham testified under oath that during the trial that Burnett erred by making an improper communication with the jury during its deliberations. Stidham overheard Burnett discuss taking a lunch break with the jury foreman and heard the foreman reply that the jury was almost finished. He testified Judge Burnett responded, "You'll need food for when you come back for sentencing," and that the foreman asked in return what would happen if the defendant was acquitted. Stidham said the judge closed the door without answering. He testified that his own failure to put this incident on the court record and his failure to meet the minimum requirements in state law to represent a defendant in a capital murder case was evidence of ineffective assistance of counsel and that Misskelley's conviction should therefore be vacated.
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