Post by CCADP on Aug 17, 2005 7:12:51 GMT -5
Orndorff Clemency Application Filled With Lies, Officials Say
By Robin Lipscomb
The Morning News
BENTONVILLE -- A man spending life in prison for the 1981 murder of Rogers businessman Don Lehman had a clemency hearing Tuesday before the Post Prison Transfer Board, but local law enforcement officials are calling his claims "ridiculous lies."
Michael Ray Orndorff, now 56, is one of four men convicted of murdering Lehman by shooting him three times and beating him with a timing chain. Lehman's daughter and wife were also home on the January 1981 evening.
Orndorff's three co-defendants were executed in 1994, but he avoided the death penalty through a series of appeals -- the most recent ended in December 2003.
Orndorff received two life sentences for aggravated robbery against Lehman's daughter and wife and a life sentence without chance for parole for the murder.
He applied in January to have the life sentence without parole dismissed, saying he didn't kill Lehman but actually tried to help him -- and that his 24-year record in prison is exemplary.
Orndorff doesn't want to be released from prison but wants to take advantage of opportunities in the prison system that are not available to convicted murderers.
Rhonda Sharp, spokeswoman for the post-prison board, said Tuesday that the board member who interviewed Orndorff will make a recommendation to other members about the application's merit. A vote by the entire board could take place as early as next Wednesday, but perhaps later.
Local prosecutors and police strongly objected to the application. Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger, who was lead prosecutor during the 20-day jury trial, called Orndorff's claims outlandish and misleading.
Van Stone, chief deputy prosecutor, pointed out that Orndorff was on parole for burglary and forgery at the time of the murder and committed armed robbery two days before murdering Lehman.
Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson and Don Townsend, his chief deputy, wrote that Orndorff's claim that he didn't participate in the crime is a "ridiculous lie ... we still do not see any remorse from Michael Orndorff."
Before the four men broke into Lehman's home, shot him in front of his wife, held his daughter at gunpoint and stole $1,200 in property, Orndorff told a friend they were "going to rob a rich old fart down the road," sheriff officials wrote.
Orndorff wore a ski mask, joked around with a firearm, and swung on a chandelier "as if he were at an amusement park," they wrote.
Orndorff is serving his time at the Diagnostic Unit in Pine Bluff, according to the Arkansas Department of Correction Web site. Little information about the man is given, other than his height being 5 feet, 7 inches, his weight 135 pounds and his upper arm bearing a tattoo: "Are You Saved?"
Also included in Orndorff's application for executive clemency are two letters from his sisters, Marcia Spoonemore and Linda Nida, who state their brother "would never have hurt anyone" and "was convicted of a murder that he did not commit."
Spoonemore wrote that her brother was 17 at the time of the murder, but court records show he was 21.
The state Supreme Court in 1983 affirmed the original convictions of the four men -- including their death penalty sentences. However, it was later discovered that Vicki Lehman, Don Lehman's daughter, was hypnotized shortly after the crime. She had been a key witness in the trial.
Lehman and his co-defendants claimed they were denied their Sixth Amendment rights to confront witnesses because her hypnosis was not disclosed to the trial court or defense. They filed petitions for habeas corpus relief in federal court, which found the error was harmless to the convictions -- but not harmless to the sentences.
After several subsequent appeals and remands, the Eighth Circuit court reversed denials of relief to Orndorff and gave the lower court an option to resentence him or reduce his sentence to life without parole.
Orndorff's attorney planned to subpoena the three co-defendants, then on death row, and which could've stayed their executions for years, prosecutors said. A decision was made to reduce the sentence.
- The Morning News
By Robin Lipscomb
The Morning News
BENTONVILLE -- A man spending life in prison for the 1981 murder of Rogers businessman Don Lehman had a clemency hearing Tuesday before the Post Prison Transfer Board, but local law enforcement officials are calling his claims "ridiculous lies."
Michael Ray Orndorff, now 56, is one of four men convicted of murdering Lehman by shooting him three times and beating him with a timing chain. Lehman's daughter and wife were also home on the January 1981 evening.
Orndorff's three co-defendants were executed in 1994, but he avoided the death penalty through a series of appeals -- the most recent ended in December 2003.
Orndorff received two life sentences for aggravated robbery against Lehman's daughter and wife and a life sentence without chance for parole for the murder.
He applied in January to have the life sentence without parole dismissed, saying he didn't kill Lehman but actually tried to help him -- and that his 24-year record in prison is exemplary.
Orndorff doesn't want to be released from prison but wants to take advantage of opportunities in the prison system that are not available to convicted murderers.
Rhonda Sharp, spokeswoman for the post-prison board, said Tuesday that the board member who interviewed Orndorff will make a recommendation to other members about the application's merit. A vote by the entire board could take place as early as next Wednesday, but perhaps later.
Local prosecutors and police strongly objected to the application. Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger, who was lead prosecutor during the 20-day jury trial, called Orndorff's claims outlandish and misleading.
Van Stone, chief deputy prosecutor, pointed out that Orndorff was on parole for burglary and forgery at the time of the murder and committed armed robbery two days before murdering Lehman.
Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson and Don Townsend, his chief deputy, wrote that Orndorff's claim that he didn't participate in the crime is a "ridiculous lie ... we still do not see any remorse from Michael Orndorff."
Before the four men broke into Lehman's home, shot him in front of his wife, held his daughter at gunpoint and stole $1,200 in property, Orndorff told a friend they were "going to rob a rich old fart down the road," sheriff officials wrote.
Orndorff wore a ski mask, joked around with a firearm, and swung on a chandelier "as if he were at an amusement park," they wrote.
Orndorff is serving his time at the Diagnostic Unit in Pine Bluff, according to the Arkansas Department of Correction Web site. Little information about the man is given, other than his height being 5 feet, 7 inches, his weight 135 pounds and his upper arm bearing a tattoo: "Are You Saved?"
Also included in Orndorff's application for executive clemency are two letters from his sisters, Marcia Spoonemore and Linda Nida, who state their brother "would never have hurt anyone" and "was convicted of a murder that he did not commit."
Spoonemore wrote that her brother was 17 at the time of the murder, but court records show he was 21.
The state Supreme Court in 1983 affirmed the original convictions of the four men -- including their death penalty sentences. However, it was later discovered that Vicki Lehman, Don Lehman's daughter, was hypnotized shortly after the crime. She had been a key witness in the trial.
Lehman and his co-defendants claimed they were denied their Sixth Amendment rights to confront witnesses because her hypnosis was not disclosed to the trial court or defense. They filed petitions for habeas corpus relief in federal court, which found the error was harmless to the convictions -- but not harmless to the sentences.
After several subsequent appeals and remands, the Eighth Circuit court reversed denials of relief to Orndorff and gave the lower court an option to resentence him or reduce his sentence to life without parole.
Orndorff's attorney planned to subpoena the three co-defendants, then on death row, and which could've stayed their executions for years, prosecutors said. A decision was made to reduce the sentence.
- The Morning News