David Burnett (politician)

Burnett was the presiding judge in the murder trials of Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, collectively known as the West Memphis Three. In February 1994 after a jury convicted Misskelley of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, Burnett sentenced Misskelley, then 18 years old, to life in prison plus 40 years.[4] In March 1994 after a jury convicted Echols and Baldwin of three counts of capital murder, Burnett sentenced Echols to death and Baldwin, 17 at the time, to life in prison without parole.[5]

In 2007, new DNA testing became available that was not technologically possible at the time of the crime, and produced evidence that hairs found at the crime scene did not match Misskelley, Baldwin or Echols and possibly matched the stepfather of one of the victims. Based on this, all three defendants asked Burnett for a new trial. In September 2008, Burnett denied retrials for all three saying the new evidence was "inconclusive".[6]

In September 2008, attorney Daniel Stidham (who became a judge in 2001), who represented Misskelley in 1994, testified at a post-conviction relief hearing. Stidham testified under oath that during the trial that Burnett erred by making an improper communication with the jury during its deliberations. Stidham overheard Burnett discuss taking a lunch break with the jury foreman and heard the foreman reply that the jury was almost finished. He testified Judge Burnett responded, "You'll need food for when you come back for sentencing," and that the foreman asked in return what would happen if the defendant was acquitted. Stidham said the judge closed the door without answering. He testified that his own failure to put this incident on the court record and his failure to meet the minimum requirements in state law to represent a defendant in a capital murder case was evidence of ineffective assistance of counsel and that Misskelley's conviction should therefore be vacated.[7]

In January 2010, Burnett denied motions for Baldwin and Misskelley to receive new trials based on inadequate representation during their original trials.[8]

In November 2010, after Burnett had retired from the bench and had been elected to the Arkansas Senate, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered new evidentiary hearings for all three defendants based on the new DNA evidence. The state's high court rebuked Burnett's 2008 decision not to grant Echols a new trial based on the DNA evidence.[9]

The three were released from prison in August 2011 after all three pleaded guilty to first-degree murder using a legal mechanism called an Alford plea, which allows the defendant to maintain their innocence while conceding that there is enough evidence to possibly convict them at trial. Under the plea deals, all three were resentenced to time-served for the murders (18 years and 75 days) and immediately released from prison.[10] In February 2012, Burnett gave an interview stating that he was unhappy with the decision to release the pair saying: "I'm not real happy with the outcome. I would have preferred to see them have a new trial", but stood by actions in the case saying: "Frankly, everything I did was affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court."[11]

In May 2010, Burnett defeated Blytheville Mayor Barrett E. Harrison in the Democratic primary for the state's 15th Senate district to succeed the term-limited Sen. Steve Bryles.[12] Burnett took almost 64 percent of approximately 8,600 votes cast.[13] Burnett won election in the general election running unopposed.[12] Due to redistricting, Burnett ran for re-election in 2012 in the 22nd Senate District. He was elected both in the Democratic primary and general election without opposition.

In 2015, Burnett introduced a bill in the Arkansas Senate that would have abolished the death penalty in Arkansas.[14] The bill failed to pass, officially dying when the state Senate adjourned sine die, which means the chamber ended its business for the legislative session.[15] In November 2016, Burnett was defeated in his re-election bid by Republican state Rep. Dave Wallace, losing by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent.[16] The race was the first that Burnett faced any oppositions since the 2010 Democratic Primary for the state Senate 15th District's Democratic nomination. He ran unopposed in the general elections of 2010 and 2012.