Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

McKinney Convicted In Murder

Murder was on the minds of Nevada County residents during 1999.

First was the murder of Jimmy McKinney, committed by his wife, Linda.

McKinney's body was found at the couple's home May 28, 1999, with Linda arrested shortly thereafter and charged with first degree murder.

The corpse had three bullet wounds, one proved to be fatal. The fatal shot, expert testimony said, hit McKinney in the left side of the neck, traveled downward from left to right and clipped an artery in the heart.

The trial took two days to complete, with the jury finding her guilty of second degree murder. She was sentenced to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

During the trial the defendant showed no outward emotion until taking the stand in the sentencing phase. At this time she broke down and became hysterical.

The state produced several witnesses for its case, mostly law enforcement officers and employees with the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock.

Defense attorney David Price of Magnolia called no witnesses during the defense's part of the trial, instead he just entered a statement made by Ida Thomas, asked for a direct verdict and rested.

The jury took an hour and 15 minutes to return with the guilty verdict, and about 30 minutes to come back with a sentence.

During the sentencing phase the victim's son, Vincent, who suffers from cerebral palsy, took the stand. He cried when telling the court how his father always took him to school and did whatever he could to make life easier.

Members of Linda's family took the stand on her behalf in this part of the trial, telling how abusive Jimmy had been to her.

Still, the jury needed little time after considering the evidence to return with the verdict of guilty on murder in the second degree.

The other major case during 1999 involved a man on death row for the double murder of a young couple in 1992.

Joe Louis Dansby's case made news when his attorney, Gene Bramblett of Camden filed a petition seeking a rehearing.

Bramblett, who, with his former partner James Pratt, replaced court-appointed attorney Gene Hale in the case, vowed to fight to the bitter end for Dansby.

Dansby was charged, tried and convicted for the May 16, 1992, murders of Jeff Lewis, 24, and Malissa Clark 21, of Prescott.

The two had gone out to ride Lewis's ATV and never returned. Their bodies were found in a rural area in southern Nevada County near the Upchurch Community.

It took five years before the legal community was able to gather enough evidence to formally charge Dansby, who had to be extradited from Oklahoma back to Prescott.

His trial took two weeks, but a jury convicted him of capital murder on April 24, 1997, giving Dansby two death penalties.

Earlier in December, Dansby was appointed a new attorney in his case.

A hearing was held in Miller County to appoint a new attorney for him in the case.

Eighth Judicial District North Prosecuting Attorney Brent Haltom said this was nothing new, as all inmates sentenced to death are appointed death qualified attorneys.

These are barristers specializing in death penalty cases.

Haltom said this is done under Rule 37. The new lawyer, he continued, will work on Dansby's behalf, filing appeals until all have been exhausted and Dansby is either retried or executed .

Should a new trial be granted, it would either be held in Nevada or Miller County. To this point, Haltom said, all filings have been made in Nevada County.

Dansby's former attorney, Bramblett, said a new lawyer could possibly provide a different perspective on the case.