$460,000 claim for tossed drug conviction rejected

Lawmakers say a former Arkansas man whose drug conviction was tossed because investigators withheld a tape that could have helped his case is not entitled to a nearly half-million dollar award from the state.

A legislative panel Tuesday reversed and dismissed the $460,000 the state Claims Commission had awarded Gyronne Buckley for the 11 ½ years he spent in prison over two drug dealing convictions that were later set aside. His conviction was eventually expunged because investigators did not provide prosecutors with a taped interview with an informant that Buckley's attorneys said would have helped his case.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel urged the panel to overturn the award, saying the commission had overstepped its authority and set a precedent for other similar awards.

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