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| Death Row Inmate Wins New Trial |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/20/2006 |
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Arkansas state's highest court last week ordered a new trial for a death row inmate convicted of murdering a couple and their two children in a dispute over marijuana plants in 1998. Ruling 4-3, the Arkansas Supreme Court said a judge shouldn't have let witnesses tell jurors about Billy Dale Green's past acts and reputation for controlling his family. Green was convicted in 2004 of capital murder and kidnapping in the July 1998 attacks on Carl Allen Elliott, 30; his 27-year-old wife, Lisa, 8-year-old Felicia and 6-year-old Gregory in Dalton. A jury then gave him four death sentences. At trial, investigators said Green killed Carl Elliott after Elliott acknowledged stealing 10 of his marijuana plants years earlier. Green has maintained his innocence and says his son committed the murders. The son, Charles Wayne "Chad" Green, testified against his father and was sentenced in 2004 to 40 years in prison for his role in the deaths. Justices agreed with the father's argument that the court should not have allowed testimony from six witnesses about his reputation and past acts. Green's relatives testified that he controlled the family, and another woman said her nephew had died "mysteriously" after stealing a marijuana plant from Green. "The state is not entitled to introduce evidence of other offenses to persuade the jury that the accused is a criminal and likely to commit the crimes he has been charged with," Associate Justice Donald L. Corbin wrote in the court's opinion. In dissent, Associate Justice Jim Gunter called the evidence against Green "overwhelming." |
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