Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Automatic Appeal Filed - Will Ask For Retrial In Case

It took five years to bring the case to court and another three weeks for it to be heard by a jury.

In the end, though, Joe Louis Dansby, 44, of Prescott, was found guilty of murder for the May 16, 1992, deaths of Jeff Lewis, 24, and Malissa Clark, 21.

The jury got the case Thursday, April 24, shortly after noon and was out about four hours before reaching a verdict of guilty on both counts.

Then, the jury, made up of seven women and five men, heard arguments from the attorneys on what the sentence should be. Brent Haltom and Danny Rodgers, arguing for the state, sought the death penalty, while Gene Bramblett and James Pratt, asked for leniency for their client.

The jury, though, sided with the state and handed down two death sentences for Dansby. Eighth Judicial Circuit-Chancery Judge Joe Griffin then set the execution date for June 25, 1997.

However, this date means little as there is an automatic appeal on death sentences in Arkansas. Additionally, Dansby's attorneys are going to fight the decision, saying reversible errors were made in the case.

The final week of the case saw the state rest its case Monday with Arkansas State Police Sgt. Jack Ursery and ASP criminal investigator Hays McWhirter taking the stand once again, repeating much the same testimony as they had throughout the trial.

Then, the defense pulled a surprise move and put Dansby on the stand.

This move didn't help the defendant, as he was unable to represent himself well on the stand. In fact, Dansby was unable to follow the state's line of questioning most of the time.

In addition, he admitted having the Marlin .22 Model 60 rifle on the day Lewis and Clark were killed.

Dansby told the court his son, Jackie, had lied when he testified the rifle had been stolen two or three weeks before the murders.

Dansby said he put the rifle in his car when he went to get water from the overflowing well near Reader on May 16. However, he told the court once he put the weapon in the back seat of the car, he never saw it again.

He also denied having a habit of walking around wearing camouflage-style clothing and carrying guns at night.

Rodgers, the deputy prosecuting attorney, questioned Dansby, asking if he knew where the Kirksey area was. Dansby recalled living there when he was young, before the family moved to Prescott when he was about six. Kirksey, as Rodgers told the jury, is near crime scene 2.

This, Rodgers pointed out, showed Dansby was familiar with the region.

Dansby talked of going to school at McRae, where he went until the eighth grade before transferring to Prescott High School. He didn't begin school until he was nine, as his parents held him out until his brother was old enough to go as well. Dansby quit school in the 11th grade.

The old McRae school, Rodgers informed the panel, was located near High Meadows Apartments where Dansby's wife, Betty, later lived and he visited.

Dansby testified as to being raised mostly in Reader and moving to the Sweet Home community (Upchurch) when he was 18, staying until he was 40.

He told of traveling Highway 53 between the Upchurch community and Whelen Springs where his sister lived and being familiar with the gravel pits where the rifle was found by a dive team on Jan. 25, 1994. He knew the pits, the court was told, because his sister used to fish there.

Testifying about the rifle, Dansby said he asked his wife to buy it for him, but didn't tell her to sign his name on the transaction slip. He also said he couldn't identify the driver's license number on the slip and didn't know Betty's driver's license number. It was shown, repeatedly, the number on the receipt was hers.

He told the court had he wanted, he could have purchased the rifle himself legally. However, Rodgers pointed out Dansby was a convicted felon at the time and could not have legally bought the weapon.

This was in connection to a Dec. 17, 1979, incident when Dansby pled guilty to first degree battery and was placed on probation for 10 years. At the time, he had beaten his wife with a fishing rod, leaving her lying in the floor, where she stayed for a day-and-a-half before getting medical attention.

Dansby, though, said he had never been to prison, and thought he was allowed to still buy guns.

While on the stand, Dansby's lack of intellect was glaringly evident. He was unable to identify Highway 290 and couldn't read the map of Nevada County by the witness stand.

As Rodgers continued his questioning, Dansby told him he didn't hunt in the Lackland Springs area because most of this land is posted and leased. He told the court his hunting was done close to his house.

The defendant was the best witness the state had.

He talked of having back surgery in 1986 and told the court he could only do light work and didn't have a regular job. His income came from Social Security disability checks.

Dansby said he couldn't afford to ride a bicycle, and denied ever riding one to Prescott or on Wildcat Road.

He testified as having pushed a bike he made for his daughters to the airport in Dec. 1993, or had help from a cousin. This is how he explained the bike being found along the fence row near the airport.

Dansby denied ever seeing Lewis' pickup or having shot at it or its occupants. No matter how Rodgers tried, Dansby would not admit to killing Lewis and Clark, or raping Clark.

He also denied knowing where either crime scene was, and said he didn't miss the rifle until Sunday, May 17, when he and his family went to Whelen Springs to visit his sister.

He learned of the murders from a scanner, he told the court, but this was around dark on May 17, he said. Actually, Dansby was unable to identify with any of the dates in question in the case, saying he didn't bother keeping up with them. He seemed to relate to time by seasons and whether it was warm or cold.

When questioned about when he went to a sister's home in California, Dansby was again unable to give a time. He did say they returned to Arkansas about two-and-a-half weeks later, but didn't know what day it was.

He also denied ever having told Betty he killed Lewis and Clark, though she later testified to the exact opposite.

His answer to why the .22 casings were picked up from his yard was to keep his wife out of trouble because her driver's license number was on the transaction slip. He couldn't say when this was done, but admitted it could have been after the murders.

On Jan. 28, 1993, he gave a Savage .22 rifle to "a couple of men," (Ursery and McWhirter) he couldn't identify. But, at the time he didn't bother telling them the Marlin had been stolen or even discussing the Marlin rifle.

Though being shown a rights form with his signature, Dansby said he was never told of his rights. In fact, he had problems identifying his own signature on the form.

While being unable to remember the date of Aug. 27, 1993, Dansby did recall going to Hope with Ursery and ASP Lt. Finis Duvall to get the Savage rifle. After returning home, he said, Ursery and Nevada County Sheriff's Deputy William Steed had him sign a consent to search form so they could look for .22 casings on his property.

This search proved fruitless as none was found. Dansby said he didn't remember seeing them search his yard because he wasn't there at the time.

But he admitted not telling the officers he had already picked the hulls up from the yard. And he didn't tell them the Marlin had been stolen, or even that he owned a Marlin rifle.

When Duvall and Steed asked him about the rifle on Sept. 23, 1993, he denied signing the transaction slip. He said they didn't ask if he owned or had bought the weapon, but again said nothing about it being stolen.

Some damning testimony came when Rodgers asked why Dansby had picked up the hulls in the first place. Dansby said it was to keep Betty from getting in trouble as her driver's license number was on the slip.

Rodgers showed where the hulls were picked up almost a full year before the first officer arrived to question him about the rifle.

The barrister asked Dansby about his Bible reading habits. Dansby's son said his father began reading the Bible after the murders occurred. However, Dansby said he had been a member of the church since he was eight and always read the Bible, calling his son a liar.

Dansby was confused at times, saying he never moved from his home in Upchurch, even though he lived in Hot Springs for a while, and was picked up in Altus, Okla. in July, 1995. He denied ever receiving a foreclosure notice on his home in the Upchurch community from the finance company.

Rodgers, at the end of this line of questioning, put a box filled with bicycle parts and a paper bag on the witness stand. Dansby rummaged through the parts with childlike fascination.

His attorneys, however, vehemently argued this stunt. The jury was removed from the courtroom and sent to lunch.

Pratt and Bramblett examined the box, finding the bags contained what was termed pornographic magazines.

Pratt argued these items didn't need to be placed in open evidence. He said the magazines shouldn't be used as evidence unless the state laid a proper foundation.

Rodgers bellowed he could introduce the magazines to show this was the type of behavior Dansby participated in and was engaged in when he raped and murdered Clark.

Griffin allowed Rodgers to continue his cross examination outside the presence of the jury.

Dansby couldn't remember ever seeing the items in the box, with the exception of a set of white cables, which he said came from a red bicycle. He denied ever having seen the aqua cables in the box.

Then came another argument concerning the adult magazines, with Bramblett saying they were irrelevant and would be highly prejudicial if allowed into evidence.

Dansby made what could have been a fatal mistake by saying he wouldn't answer questions if they may hurt him after the judge allowed the state to pursue its line of questioning.

Bramblett said there are other people with this type of material who are not suspects in any sex crimes, and this was a way for the state to go through the back door and attack Dansby's credibility.

Griffin, though, agreed with the state. Bramblett sat at the lawyer's table shaking his head, while his client looked through the box and in the bag.

Rodgers asked about a 9mm handgun, with Dansby saying he had sold his. He was then questioned about the aqua bike cables, and said he had never used that type before.

At this point, Rodgers accused him of lying, which brought an objection from Bramblett, who argued his client had never said he would lie in his own behalf.

"I don't understand how this witness can be asked about materials not relevant to the case," he said. "The court needs to look at and decide if they are relevant before he's asked."

Rodgers said the state had no intentions of introducing the magazines into evidence, saying his plans were to discuss the bike cables only.

Griffin said the court had not seen any points made which would get the magazines allowed into evidence. "I believe they would be prejudicial and their effect would outweigh any probative value," he said. He then said the magazines would not be in the box in the jury's presence.

The judge said the state could ask about the cables, but not the magazines.

Rodgers was relentless in his questioning. He asked if Betty hadn't filed a complaint against Dansby because he threatened to kill her. Dansby said the complaint was filed, but no threat had been made.

It was also brought out ASP investigators Mike Loe and Mike Fletcher had gone to Oklahoma to get Dansby on July 12, 1995, but were unable to bring him back because he was in jail. Dansby fought extradition, but was returned to Arkansas Aug. 11, 1995.

Dansby also denied ever having confessed being the killer to Jackie Cooper.

The defendant also denied his grandfather had been killed by a white man. He said he never knew either of his grandfathers, and was unable to identify D.C. Evans, a name which cropped up several times during the trial.

Rodgers, though, did get Dansby to admit knowing where the first scene was because of his job with the Reader Railroad in 1974 or '75, when he helped take up the tracks in the area.

Bramblett, on redirect, did what he could to close the wound opened by the state.

Dansby told the court none of the information on the transaction slip for the rifle was in his writing, nor had it been filled out by him.

He admitted having problems with his wife and mother-in-law, which led him to being put in the Nevada County Jail three times. However, he said he had never been to the penitentiary.

And, again, he denied being the killer of Lewis and Clark, or Clark's rapist.

Once both sides were finished with Dansby, the defense called other witnesses.

These included people who were considered suspects in the case at one time, including Jack Bocksnick of Chidester.

Bocksnick said he had heard of the murders and was questioned by authorities, but denied ever having admitted to anyone he was the killer.

Pratt had asked if he had told Steve Alsobrook, who lives in the White Oak Lake area, he had killed Lewis and Clark.

At the time of the murders, he said, he was helping a friend put an engine in his car.

Alsobrook, though, was unable to tell the court the direction Bluff City was from Chidester, saying, "I get lost."

However, he told the court Bocksnick woke him up one morning after the murders and said, "I done it," Alsobrook said he had asked Bocksnick what he was talking about. Bocksnick allegedly told him he was the one who killed Lewis and Clark. "I thought he was joking," Alsobrook said.

Haltom asked if he had taken Bocksnick's "confession" seriously, and was told no.

However, on redirect, Pratt asked about Alsobrook's telling Steed on May 19, 1992, about seeing a white person shooting a .22 into a bank Friday, May, 15, 1992, but got nowhere.

Abb Morman was called back to the stand to testify about the collection of casings by Ivory Jones, 26.

Morman said Jones had been in jail on a DWI charge and came to see him with seven casings reportedly from Dansby's yard.

Morman said he couldn't identify the casings and couldn't say when they were brought in. However, he did have a form where they were turned over to the crime lab.

He said the information was in his truck downstairs. Griffin called a recess until Morman retrieved the materials.

Once court resumed, Morman said the casings were brought to him by Jones on Oct. 23, 1992. He said Jones was not released from jail to go look for them, but was already out and volunteered to do it.

But the former Nevada County Sheriff said there were no officers with Jones when the search was made, nor was Jones told how to conduct the search or what kind of information to get. Jones was also not deputized as an officer by Morman.

Jones' story was somewhat different. He told the court he knew Morman as a game warden before he became sheriff.

He said Morman asked him to go to Dansby's home and collect .22 casings while he (Jones) was in jail on an old fine he hadn't paid.

Jones also denied ever searching Dansby's yard or giving casings to Morman.

On cross by Rodgers, Jones admitted he had been living with Dansby's sister, Louella, at the time. However, he denied telling Ursery he went to Dansby's and picked up casings.

Rodgers brought out a statement made by Jones which said he had known Dansby all his (Jones') life. The statement read Dansby was in the habit of wearing military dress and carrying knives and guns.

He also asked if he hadn't told Ursery and Loe Dansby didn't like white people. Bramblett objected to this question, saying it poisoned the well of justice, was highly prejudicial and improper.

Rodgers said he was allowed to challenge the witness's credibility, but Bramblett argued he couldn't do it by bringing racism into the questioning. Griffin agreed.

Jones denied saying Dansby liked to walk at night, though he did say Dansby used to wear military clothing. But, he told the court, Dansby was not into knives and guns.

The final day of testimony began with Larry Overton taking the stand Thursday, April 23.

Overton told the court he saw a truck which looked like Lewis' around 7 a.m. Sunday, May 17, 1992. At the time the truck passed his home, he said, he was working in his yard.

But, Overton said he was unable to see the driver at the time.

Haltom asked if he had seen an all-terrain vehicle in the truck, with Overton saying he didn't recall seeing one.

After a short questioning of Ursery, which focused on Overton's statement and the Jones interview, the defense rested.

Rebuttal witnesses were then called, with Ursery again brought to the stand to talk about Jones' statement.

He was followed by Loe, who was questioned along the same lines.

Harley Hillery came next, telling the court he had seen Dansby ride a bicycle on Wildcat Road and the Liberty Church Road.

He said on July 16, 1993, he responded to a domestic disturbance at the High Meadow Apartments with Dansby involved.

According to Hillery, he and Steed had gotten a call to back up a city police officer. When they arrived, he said, he saw Dansby and his son, Jackie, wrestling in the parking lot. Dansby, he said, was restraining his son. Both were taken to the NCSO and processed.

Steed said pretty much the same thing as Hillery, but added Dansby appeared to be trying to help the officer restrain Jackie and put him in handcuffs.

The most damning testimony came from Dansby's wife, who was told she had to testify against him.

Earlier in the trial, the defense had invoked rule 504, the husband-wife privilege, with the judge agreeing.

However, Griffin overturned his prior ruling saying after the testimony by Cooper the rule no longer applied.

He said even though Cooper's credibility was questionable, a confession was allegedly made to a third party and this nullified the husband-wife privilege.

This, then, was the beginning of the end for the defense and Dansby.

Betty told the court Dansby had told her he murdered Lewis and Clark a few weeks after the murders. In addition, she said, he told her when they had met outside a Prescott pawn shop where he was making payments on a .243 caliber rifle.

According to her, Dansby also told her he threw the rifle in the bar pit off Hwy. 53.

Pratt, on cross, got her to admit she had lied in the case on a number of occasions.

One of the lies she admitted to telling was about the transaction slip for the Marlin .22. She also admitted lying when she told officers all she knew about the murders was what she had seen on television and read in the papers.

When asked why she finally left Dansby, Betty said it was because he was cheating on her with other women.

"Not because he beat you," Pratt said. "Not because he killed those two kids. You left him because he was having affairs with other women?"

She agreed.

She also said there had been times when Dansby threatened to kill her, their children and her family. She told the court she was afraid of him.

Betty also told the court what the state used as Dansby's motive for the murders. She said he told her a white man had killed his grandfather and nothing was done about it.

When asked, she said it was his mother's father who was supposed to have been killed.

But, when Mazie Dansby, 83, Joe's mother, was put on the stand, she told the court her father had died of heart problems when she was getting out of Dunbar High School in the Texarkana area.

This was long before Joe was born.

"No white man killed any member of my family," she said. "My father never had trouble with white folks."

From there, the jury was given its directions on what verdicts it could find. Griffin said it could find Dansby guilty of capital murder, first degree murder or not guilty.

He also instructed the jury not to be concerned with a penalty at this point, just a verdict.

The attorneys gave their closing arguments, with the state calling for guilt, while the defense sought a verdict of not guilty.

The jury took nearly four hours to return a guilty verdict on both counts.

Following the verdict, the sentencing phase began with the state asking for the death penalty, while the defense asked for leniency.

Again, it took the jury almost four hours before returning with its decision -- death on both counts.