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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
Death |
Years Imprisoned: |
16.67 |
Year Crime: |
2001 |
Year Convicted: |
2002 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Arkansas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Crawford |
City of Crime: |
Van Buren |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Rickey Dale Newman aka Ricky Dale Newman was wrongly convicted on June 10, 2002 of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of homeless Marie Cholette, whose decomposing body that had been badly mutilated, was found on February 15, 2001 in Van Buren, Arkansas. Rickey Newman provided a videotaped confession after his police interrogators told him they had physical evidence linking him to the crime, and they promised to provide assistance for his mental health issues. During his trial key prosecution evidence was expert testimony by a crime lab technician that Newman's hair was microscopically similar to a "head" hair found on a sleeping bag in the tent where Cholette's body was found, and that Cholette's hair was microscopically similar to two hairs found on Newman's clothing. There was also expert psychology testimony that Newman did not suffer from mental disease or a mental defect: Dr. Charles Mallory, a psychologist at Arkansas State Hospital, further testified that Newman's confession and wanting to be sentenced to death was not a symptom of mental disease. Newman, who represented himself during his trial, testified to how he got Cholette drunk and then killed her, describing that he "Cut her from head to toe." Newman represented himself during his trial (with standby counsel) that was completed in one day, and after his conviction by a jury, he got his wish and was sentenced to death. Newman tried to waive his right to appeal, which was unsuccessful because of a mandatory appeal of death penalty cases. His court appointed lawyer raised 43 issues in Newman's direct appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which on May 22, 2003 issued its ruling that found no reversible error for his conviction or legal reason he wasn't properly sentenced to death. Newman sought to waive filing a post-conviction appeal, but attorney Julie Brain was appointed to represent him. Brain filed a post-conviction petition in 2005 that raised many issues, one of which was new expert psychology evidence that Newman's IQ was 67, and Dr. Mallory had erred in determining it was higher and that he was mentally competent. After almost nine years of legal proceedings, the Arkansas Supreme Court vacated Newman's conviction in January 2014 and ordered his retrial on the basis his low IQ constituted a mental disability, and “Taking everything into account, we are persuaded that the record overwhelmingly illustrates that Newman’s cognitive deficits and mental illnesses interfered with his ability to effectively and rationally assist counsel." The State sought to retry Newman. Brain's motion to have Newman's videotaped confession excluded from his retrial was granted by Crawford County Circuit Judge Gary Cottrell in January 2017. Judge Cottrell's ruling was affirmed on appeal, and the motion by the Crawford County District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges against Newman was granted on October 11, 2017, and Newman was released later that day." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"False confession and unreliable expert hair analysis and testimony, and unreliable expert psychology testimony at trial." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"The Arkansas Supreme Court vacated Newman's conviction in January 2014 and ordered his retrial on the basis his low IQ constituted a mental disability, and “Taking everything into account, we are persuaded that the record overwhelmingly illustrates that Newman’s cognitive deficits and mental illnesses interfered with his ability to effectively and rationally assist counsel." The State sought to retry Newman. Brain's motion to have Newman's videotaped confession excluded from his retrial was granted by Crawford County Circuit Judge Gary Cottrell in January 2017. Judge Cottrell's ruling was affirmed on appeal, and the motion by the Crawford County District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges against Newman was granted on October 11, 2017, and Newman was released later that day." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Post-conviction attorney Julie Brain who worked on Rickey Newman's case from 2004 to 2017. |
Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
43 |
Age When Released: |
59 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Rickey Dale Newman freed from prison after years on Death Row, By Max Brantley, Arkansas Times, October 11, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/10/11/ricky-dale-newman-freed-from-death-row-released-from-prison |
Information Source 2: |
Rickey Dale Newman a/k/a Ricky Dale Newman v. State of Arkansas |
Information Location 2: |
https://law.justia.com/cases/arkansas/supreme-court/2003/cr02-811-813.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org