No call yet on payout in killing

Will decide next week, panel says

The Arkansas Claims Commission hasn’t decided how much the state should pay for improperly releasing a teenage burglar from custody who subsequently killed a Little Rock man.

In a hearing last month, the commission found the Department of Human Services’ Youth Services Division liable in the death of Maurice “Beau” Clark.

The commission met again Thursday to discuss how much money to award Clark’s survivors, but it reached no decision Thursday or Friday.

Commission Director Norman Hodges said Friday that the commission expects to release a decision early next week.

Clark, 67, was shot and killed during a home invasion June 30, 2009.

Police and prosecutors identified Antonio Terry, then 16, as one of four teens who entered Clark’s residence. Terry shot Clark twice, including once in the head. Terry pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the case and was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Terry had been held in a -detention centerafter admitting to burglary and theft, but was released by Youth Services officials after three months, despite objections from several staff members.

In a filing with the commission, Youth Services admitted that Terry’s release might have been prevented if it had followed its own “informal operating procedures” and considered all the evidence before releasing Terry.

A spokesman for the Department of Human Services has said the agency has “fortified” its youth-release process since the killing, including taking all cases to the agency director for review.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/15/2012

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