FAYETTEVILLE -- A hearing for a man sentenced as a teen to life in prison without parole was continued in Washington County Circuit Court on Friday because the legislature is considering a bill that, if passed, would make the proceedings moot.
James Dean Vancleave, 54, of Springdale was convicted of capital murder in the 1978 killing of a convenience store clerk.
Supreme Court rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down automatic life sentences with no chance of parole for teen killers in Miller v. Alabama but 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, 2016, the earlier ruling should be applied retroactively. The ruling means inmates convicted years ago must be considered for parole or given a new sentence. That decision didn’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
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 ruling means inmates, including those convicted decades ago, must be considered for parole or given a new sentence.
Prosecutor Matt Durrett told Judge Mark Lindsay on Friday that Senate Bill 294 would change the state's sentencing structure to strike life without parole for juveniles and replace it with life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The bill has passed the Senate handily and he expects the bill to be before House committees next week, Durrett said.
If approved by the Legislature, it would go into effect immediately and also apply retroactively to Vancleave and those juveniles sentenced to life without parole in the past, Durrett told Lindsay.
"If it were enacted, it would render these petitions moot," Durrett said. "So I would respectfully request that we postpone proceedings for a few weeks to see if it does go through. Because if it does, Mr. Vancleave's sentence will be automatically converted to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years."
The legislature is expected to adjourn March 20. Lindsay reset the case for April 4.
"If this bill is enacted and becomes law, it's my interpretation from a first look at it you'd be immediately eligible for parole," Lindsay said. "I believe it is well worth everybody's time and effort to give it a week or two to see if it passes and is signed by the governor rather than me hearing an hour's worth of oral argument today and making a decision and then it coming to naught."
Vancleave, now a middle-aged man with receding hair, a close cropped moustache and prominent paunch addressed the court during the hearing to argue he should be released immediately because his case is the same as that of Dennis Lewis, who was ordered released from prison in October because there was no longer an available sentencing option for him.
"This proceeding should be dismissed that way I will not be deprived of life or liberty under the Constitution anymore," Vancleave said.
Vancleave was 16 when he killed 23-year-old Debra King on Jan. 29, 1978, at a convenience store on Elm Springs Road, which was then just outside Springdale.
Vancleave is represented by Bob Estes, who was his attorney at the original trial.
Vancleave stabbed King 16 times, slashed her hand 11 times and tried to slash her throat with a small hunting knife to get $30 from her purse. The cash register wasn't touched.
Motions to transfer the case to juvenile court or change the venue because of extensive media coverage were denied. Vancleave was convicted July 24, 1978. Prosecutors sought the death penalty against Vancleave, but the jury returned life without parole.
Vancleave is being held at the state Department of Correction's Grimes Unit at Newport in Jackson County.
NW News on 03/04/2017