A television station's face-to-face prison interview with murder suspect Arron Lewis angered both prosecutors and the public, prompted an internal investigation by the Arkansas Department of Correction, and led to the resignation of one of two prison officials placed on paid administrative leave after the interview aired.
Lewis, 33, is charged with kidnapping and capital murder in the death of Realtor Beverly Carter, who worked at Crye-Leike in North Little Rock.
Because of those charges and the fact that Lewis is segregated from other inmates at the Maximum Security Unit in Tucker, he shouldn't have been allowed to speak with a reporter face to face, spokesman Dina Tyler told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last week. Any interviews with media should have taken place via telephone, email or letters, she added.
The agency placed the two officials on paid leave Oct. 15. It also opened an investigation, but not before Pulaski County prosecutors expressed their displeasure over the three-part interview, which aired on KARK, Channel 4, on Oct. 14, 15 and 16.
On Friday, Tyler sent out a news release saying that the investigation had ended. One employee had returned to work Monday and the other employee had resigned.
The employee who returned to work received no disciplinary action. The resignation of the second employee became effective Thursday evening, Tyler said.
"Because the review did not result in a suspension or termination, the names of these employees cannot be released," Tyler said. "Administrative leave is not a disciplinary action. You are placed on leave while it's determined whether you did something wrong. If you're suspended, it means you did something wrong and the suspension is the result of what you did. Employment actions are verbal warning, written warning, reassignment, suspension, demotion and termination."
In a Democrat-Gazette article published last week, Tyler said the interview request went through the "normal process" of approval. Because the department isn't releasing the names or titles of the two employees involved in granting KARK reporter Shannon Miller a face-to-face interview with Lewis, it's unclear how the process unfolded.
Media requests for inmate interviews typically involve a public information official. A warden also must sign off on such requests, according to the Department of Correction's administrative regulations.
Shea Wilson has been the Department of Correction's public information officer since January 2011. She didn't return a message left on her personal cellphone Friday. Her state cellphone rang but never allowed for a voice mail. An email sent to her government address generated an automated reply saying that Wilson would be out of the office all week.
Administrative Regulation 011, which pertains to media interviews with inmates, states:
"With respect to requests for interviews with inmates, it will be necessary for the reporter to first contact the unit to obtain the inmate's permission. The inmate may wish to consult with his/her attorney of record before agreeing to be interviewed or photographed. Before being interviewed or photographed, the inmate must sign an Inmate Consent Form and same should be witnessed by a department staff member.
"Prior to granting approval for such interviews, the warden will have to take into consideration the effect such an interview may have on the inmate and his/her personal mental attitude, the effect it may have on other inmates, and the effect of such an interview with respect to any pending review of the inmate.
"The media representative shall be escorted by the warden or his designee while at the institution."
Miller's interview with Lewis also ran on KARK's sister station, KLRT, Channel 16.
Throughout the series, disgruntled viewers posted complaints on both stations' Facebook pages. Many said Lewis' mumblings and denials hadn't deserved three nights of coverage.
Crye-Leike real estate agents -- many of whom had helped search for Carter after she disappeared Sept. 25 from a house she was showing to a potential client -- called the interview "gratuitous" and "irrelevant" in a statement issued last week. The interview served only to "inflame passions, feed rumor, and cause pain to the victim's loved ones," the statement said.
"We are deeply saddened that some of the local media would choose to sensationalize criminal activity and give a voice to the accused murderer of Beverly Carter, allowing him to make statements reflecting upon her judgment and character."
On Friday, only KATV, Channel 7, and KTHV, Channel 11, posted links on Facebook to stories about the conclusion of the Department of Correction's investigation. Using those stations' Facebook posts as a forum, viewers chided KARK again -- not only for failing to post a link on its own Facebook page but also for "causing someone to lose a job."
They also expressed skepticism that only one prison official was responsible for allowing the interview with Lewis.
KARK and KLRT did post stories about the prison employee's resignation on their websites, however.
Asked to comment on the criticism, KARK news director Austin Kellerman said: "Our coverage decisions always balance community relevance and impact on Arkansas families."
Prosecutor Larry Jegley had been considering requesting a gag order in the case. He said last week that he was "less inclined" to do so "now that I have been reassured that [the department] will not allow future interviews."
State Desk on 10/25/2014