JONESBORO -- A framed drawing of the teacher and four children who were killed in the 1998 Westside Middle School shooting hangs on the wall of Craighead County deputy prosecutor Mike Walden's conference room in his downtown office.
It served as his mantra, and as a symbol to him that crime is far-reaching and there were victims and their families to consider while doing his job.
"Westside taught me that grief was very personal," Walden said. "It's a good reminder of what the prosecutor's role is about."
It's stayed with him since and earned him a reputation with attorneys in Jonesboro and around the state that he is caring and fair.
Walden, 64, retired Wednesday after serving as a deputy prosecutor or as an interim prosecuting attorney for the 2nd Judicial Circuit since 1976. The circuit is composed of Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Green, Mississippi and Poinsett counties.
He has prosecuted several headline-grabbing cases, including the two young Westside shooters and a defendant who wanted to receive the death penalty for killing his girlfriend.
He also worked with others on the long-running conviction and subsequent release of three West Memphis men accused of killing three 8-year-old boys.
"He's worked through four elected prosecutors and served in five decades," said 2nd Judicial Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington. "He's been such a resource to me when I took office.
"His sense of justice is to do the right thing. It's not about the numbers and convictions as much as it is doing justice. He always said the victims' families are more important to him than winning the case."
Walden's opponents in the courtroom also considered him fair.
"He looked at all aspects," said Bill Bristow, a Jonesboro defense attorney who has often gone against Walden. "He used common sense and always tried to be fair. He was always a pleasure to work with."
Randel Miller, a Jonesboro defense attorney, also said Walden strove for fairness.
"He never tried to leave us over a barrel," Miller said. "He was hard-nosed, but he never tried to take advantage of the fact that they had more resources than defense attorneys usually do. He always looked at what the right option was.
"I wish every prosecutor had his talent."
Walden graduated from high school in Memphis in 1969 and attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., before earning his law degree at Rhodes College in Memphis. He was always interested in politics, he said.
"Law seemed to be the natural place to head," Walden said.
He was married in 1975 and began working as a Craighead County deputy prosecutor the next year.
"On my first day on the job, I drove to the Lake City District and prosecuted DWIs and fights," Walden said.
He learned a valuable lesson during his first murder trial that year -- be sure to interview all witnesses.
"I worked so hard on that case," Walden said. "I tried to talk to every witness.
"But I missed one."
That witness testified that he picked up the defendant, who was hitchhiking on a road shortly after the homicide he was charged with had occurred. While questioning the witness, Walden eventually asked the man to point out the person he picked up that night.
The witness paused and looked at Walden closely.
Walden realized he looked similar to the defendant.
"It was my first murder trial, and I was going to be identified as the suspect," he said. "I knew after that to always talk to all witnesses."
Since then, he's prosecuted hundreds of cases.
In 1998, he faced Robert Robbins, a Jonesboro man charged in the slaying of his girlfriend. Robbins, charged with capital murder, wanted to be executed and defended himself.
Walden offered Robbins a lesser plea of life in prison without parole, but Robbins refused.
Robbins' defense consisted of presenting evidence against himself. During his opening statement, Robbins called the slaying "the worst of its kind," Walden said.
"It was a strange case," Walden said. "You just have to shake your head."
Robbins was convicted and sentenced to death, but he later changed his mind about wanting to be executed. He remains incarcerated.
Since Walden took office almost 40 years ago, sentencing guidelines have changed and were designed to limit prosecutorial discretion.
"Mike always said, 'Follow the guidelines,'" Ellington said.
"He wouldn't go for the maximum sentence in all cases," Bristow said. "He always tried to get the result he thought was fair."
Bob McMahan, the prosecutor coordinator for the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said Walden excelled at interpreting the sentencing standards.
"His expertise was very valuable to our association," McMahan said. "I am sure he will be greatly missed in that district. He sought justice and did the right thing. That is the perfect description of Mike."
On March 24, 1998, Walden's professional life changed as he stood on the grounds of Westside Middle School. Two boys, 11 and 13 at the time, fatally shot four students and teacher Shannon Wright. They also injured 10 other students.
"When I heard the age of the two boys, I knew it was going to be a difficult case to deal with," he said. "I knew that they could only be incarcerated until they were 18 and then turned loose.
"That case made me more sensitive to all the victims who were dealing with that situation."
For the past 16 years, on the anniversary of the shooting, Walden had called the victims' families to talk with them.
"I think a good prosecutor can make a huge difference in the region," he said. "A prosecutor's position is powerful. There are decisions to charge that affect people. It costs sums of money for [defendants] to defend themselves. There are families to consider, both the victim's and the defendant's. It's an honored position not to be treated lightly.
"I'd like to be remembered as being fair more than winning."
Walden will move to Little Rock this month to follow his wife, who already found the couple a house.
Grant DeProw, a Jonesboro attorney and former assistant public defender, will take Walden's position.
"There are things I'll definitely miss," Walden said of his job. "It'll be interesting to see what happens."
On Wednesday, the first day in 39 years that Walden didn't go to his office, the Westside artwork that served as a reminder to Walden of the weight of his job remained hanging in the conference room.
State Desk on 07/04/2015