FAYETTEVILLE -- A man who murdered a 4-year-old girl 30 years ago when he was a teen was in Washington County Circuit Court on Friday seeking his release.
Christopher S. Segerstrom, 45, was convicted of capital murder in 1986 and sentenced to life without parole.
Supreme Court rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down automatic life sentences with no chance of parole for teenage killers more than four years ago in Miller v. Alabama. The court didn’t say if the ruling applied retroactively. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority saying judges weighing prison terms for young offenders must take into account “the mitigating qualities of youth,” including immaturity and the failure to fully comprehend the consequences of their actions.
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in June 2015 that Ulonzo Gordon should get a chance for re-sentencing in Crittenden County Circuit Court. Gordon was 17 when he was involved in the murder of a West Memphis man in 1995.
A divided U.S. Supreme Court said Jan. 25 that the earlier ruling should be applied retroactively. The ruling means inmates convicted years ago must be considered for parole or given a new sentence. The decision doesn’t bar judges from sentencing teen killers to life in prison, but the court has said life sentences for teens should be rare, and only used in the worst cases.
Source: Staff report
He was in court Friday because recent state and federal appeals court rulings have said mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles are unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment. Teens should at least have the hope of someday being released, according to the rulings, which are retroactive.
The rulings mean inmates, including those convicted decades ago, must be considered for parole or given a new sentence.
Segerstrom was 15 on July 26, 1986, when he took Barbara Thompson into a wooded area behind the Lewis Plaza Apartments and sexually assaulted her before bashing her head with a rock and suffocating her. Segerstrom had promised to help the child catch butterflies.
Segerstrom's attorneys along with Matt Durrett, Washington County prosecutor, and Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay met Friday morning in the judge's chambers to discuss the case. A hearing date of Feb. 21 was agreed to and both sides were asked to file briefs on legal issues in the case by Feb. 6.
While that was going on, Segerstrom, wearing a jail uniform, sat in the jury box with other detainees who were waiting for their cases to be called.
Security inside the courtroom was heavy. Extra deputies were assigned to the courtroom to head off any issues or outbursts.
Extended family of Barbara Thompson took up two benches in the front of the courtroom to get their first look at Segerstrom since his trial. Several were young enough they had likely never seen Segerstrom.
After the attorneys and judge were done, Segerstrom was taken to a prisoner holding cell outside the courtroom to wait for his ride back to jail.
Durrett then met with Thompson's relatives to explain the process and answer any questions they had.
"They're just trying to wrap their brains around why," Durrett said.
Durrett said family members agreed to prosecutors waiving the death penalty at Segerstrom's original trial because they had wanted to avoid enduring years of appeals.
One issue pending before the Arkansas Supreme Court is if a term of years in prison is offered, what percentage of the sentence must be served before the defendant is eligible for parole.
"These are uncharted waters, and there are several issues that are being kicked around," Durrett said.
Gregg Parrish, executive director the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, which represents the majority of the 56 men identified as being wrongly sentenced in Arkansas, said both sides need to know the answer, and he expects a decision after the first of the year.
Parrish said prosecutors need to be able to knowledgeably inform the victims' families if they're going to make an offer and defense attorneys need the answer before conveying an offer to their clients.
Segerstrom is being held at the state Department of Correction's Ouachita River Unit at Malvern in Hot Spring County.
He is represented by Kent McLemore and Ben Crabtree. Crabtree is the son of Terry Crabtree, the late juvenile and appeals court judge who volunteered to help Denny Hyslip, public defender at the time, represent Segerstrom at his original trial. McLemore worked as a law clerk on Segerstrom's appeal.
NW News on 11/05/2016