Family members of Arkansas murder victims appeal to board to reject clemency bids

Holly Lodge Meyer, prosecuting attorney for the 16th Judicial District, speaks on behalf of Debra Reese's family  to the parole board during a victim input hearing Friday, March 24, 2017, in Little Rock.
Holly Lodge Meyer, prosecuting attorney for the 16th Judicial District, speaks on behalf of Debra Reese's family to the parole board during a victim input hearing Friday, March 24, 2017, in Little Rock.

Family members of murder victims spoke emotionally Friday, making appeals to the parole board just weeks before the scheduled executions of the victims’ convicted killers.

Stacey Johnson, 47, and Ledell Lee, 51, are set to die April 20 after being convicted in the 1993 deaths of Carol Health and Debra Reese, respectively.

The parents and son of Debra Reese, who was beaten to death by Lee in her home with a tire iron given to her for protection by her husband, were among those who spoke Friday afternoon.

Reese’s father and son each broke down into tears as they started speaking before the board.

“My mother was everything to me,” Reese’s son said. “When she was ripped from my life, it started a spiral that I almost didn’t recover from, and my family has lived in the shadow of this event our entire lives.”

“Let us step out of the shadow,” he pleaded, adding that clemency would offer mercy to someone who showed none to his mother.

Holly Lodge Meyer, prosecuting attorney for the 16th Judicial District, said the full measure of punishment, referring to the death penalty, is the only punishment proportional to the conduct of Lee in Reese’s killing.

“The outrage is still fresh, and I can tell you that the case before you is the worst that I have experienced,” Meyer said, adding her confidence that “[Lee’s] vileness and depravity knows no bounds.”

Heath’s family, including her sister, and the prosecutor on the case also spoke before the board Friday afternoon. A letter from the victim’s daughter, Ashley Heath, was read aloud.

Assistant Attorney General Pamela Rumpz referenced Johnson’s statements earlier in the day to the board, including a claim that he knew the victim. Johnson initially said he didn’t know Heath.

“I believe that this an attempt to explain away some of the evidence that connects him to this murder,” she said, adding that hair from the scene that matched Johnson’s DNA “is the most important thing here.”

Heath was beaten, strangled and had her throat slit while her two young children were at home.

Earlier in the day, the two inmates made their bids to the parole board to spare their lives, The Associated Press previously reported. Johnson told the board that he would lose his life for a crime that he did not commit.

Lee did not appear at Friday's clemency hearing. His attorney, Lee Short," cited "skepticism of any government hearing" as the reason for his absence.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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