Summary
Well, more accurately, this particular incident happened an hour away in Ontario, Oregon, but the story still bears retelling. Charges of assault and harassment were dropped against Joseph Barneycastle, 52, on November 1, according to a story in the Ontario Argus Observer. Barneycastle was arrested on September 3 after his wife, 60-year-old Lillian Franz, reportedly told police that Barneycastle had struck her in the face. Franz's feet were amputated earlier this year after she was severely burned in a forest fire, but on this particular evening, she also had blood flowing from her mouth to her chest, according to the police report cited in the article. Officers took Barneycastle in, but apparently forgot to check the box on the arrest report identifying the mental state of the suspect. The choices on Oregon forms are "intentional," "knowing," "reckless," "criminal negligence" and "no culpable mental state." Without that link in the arrest report, the Malheur D.A.'s case was on shaky ground-which wasn't helped by the fact that both Franz and Barneycastle insist now that he never struck her.
Lankford and his brother Brian were convicted in 1984 of murdering a Texas couple in the forest outside of Grangeville in the summer of 1983. With no physical evidence directly linking [Mark Lankford] to the killings, his conviction was based largely on Brian Lankford's testimony against his brother, which Brian has since recanted. However, according to the new ruling, Mark Lankford's legal counsel, one Gregory FitzMaurice, was deficient in a number of ways that compromised Lankford's trial. Most notably, FitzMaurice instructed the jury that they could convict Lankford based on his brother's testimony, with no other corroborating evidence-which, according to the new ruling, is "obviously against Idaho law."See the full content of this document
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True Crime
This is the place, Boise, Idaho
We live here ... we're Boiseans.The stories you are about to read are true.LANKFORD GETS APPEAL BASED ON LAWYER FLUBSAn Idaho death row inmate with 24 years of solitary confinement under his belt took a significant step toward doing the stuff we all take for granted-think fill...See the full content of this document
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