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EYES ON ARKANSAS
Arkansas Journal Sep 1999Arkansas Journal Sep 1999 IIArkansas Journal Oct 1999Arkansas Journal Nov 1999Arkansas Journal Dec 1999Arkansas Journal Jan 2000Arkansas Journal Feb 2000THE CUMMINS UNIT
A Wife Tours CumminsTHE VARNER UNIT
A Tour of VarnerDARK AND EVIL THINGS
Things That Go BumpCause of Death Brain TumorBlame the InmateHow to Cover ADC ButtsAre You In A Hurry BoyMEDICAL NEGLECT
Emergency OnlyTo Read A Book Would Be HeavenLook Out BelowWillards Great BattleCRIMINAL ACTS OF ADC STAFF
The Death of Eddie BagbyPepper Spray AssaultARKANSAS STATE MEDICAL BOARD
The Infamous Dr YoungThe Infamous Dr Young IIDARK AND EVIL MONSTERS
Dark and Evil MonstersDark and Evil ADC DirectorSECURITY MATTERS
ADC Security 101Escaped Murderer Kills 2 MoreEscaped Murderer Part IIRolf to Huckabee on SecurityTALES FROM HELL
Food FightPoison FoodMATTERS OF PISS & DEFECATION
Number 10 DefecationIn the BushesNo One In the BuildingFeces AnyoneARKANSAS JUSTICE
Kids Cops and Confessions 1Kids Cops and Confessions 2Arkansas Private PrisonsWest Memphis 3Ron Fields A Long Way to FallARKANSAS HEROES
Arkansas HeroesFather Franz and Deacon KingKelly DudaMara LeverittDARK & EVIL LAW ENFORCEMENT
Victim of Murdered FriendsEDITORIALS
Hey TurkeysAn Eye for an Eye Part IAn Eye for an Eye ContinuedNecessary ChangesMCI Rapes Inmates FamiliesArkansas Prison Phone HistoryBlueprint of a ConspiracyThe Conspiracy of CompromiseLinksILLEGAL SENTENCING & CLEMENCY
Foreword to Legal DiscussionsApparent Illegalities Part 1Apparent Illegalities Part 2Apparent Illegalities Part 3Apparent Illegalities Part 4Apparent Illegalities Part 5DEATH QUALIFIED JURIES
Death Qualified Juries Part 1Death Qualified Juries Part 2Death Qualified Juries Part 3Death Qualified Juries Part 4Death Qualified Juries Part 5THE EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY CARROT
The Clemency Carrot Part IThe Clemency Carrot Part IIThe Clemency Carrot Part IIIThe Clemency Carrot Part IVThe Clemency Carrot Part VThe Clemency Carrot Part VIUpdateVERSE
LeviathanThe Hedonistic HourThe Fall Paradigm|
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| ARKANSAS HEROES |
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| MARA LEVERITT |
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| 10 October 2006 BY Amy Burnett Journalism and books written about true crime stories are very interesting to me. I have a huge passion for true crime, especially true crime with corruption. So many true crime stories involve things like police corruption and political misconduct. I have read many true crime stories by several different authors. However, my favorite author is Mara Leveritt, a true crime investigative reporter in Arkansas. According to my personal interview with Mara Leveritt, Mara was born in Chicago to Robert and Mary Ruth Blyth. Her family then moved to Denver where she grew up and met her husband. They married and had two children. Mara moved to Little Rock in 1970. She attended college at UALR where she pursued a degree in Journalism. Although Journalism was not her first choice in careers, she decided on Journalism after reading a book about careers. The book suggested anyone who enjoys writing should pursue a career in Journalism. Mara’s first job as a journalist was at a pre-cursor to The Arkansas Times called Essence. She then went on to be a copy editor for The Arkansas Democrat. Later she became a reporter for The Arkansas Gazette before settling in at The Arkansas Times. My biggest interest in Mara Leveritt comes from the books she has written. I had so many questions when I interviewed her for this paper in regards to those books. Mara has written two books based on true crime stories here in Arkansas. In my interview, I asked her why she decided to write books on stories that happened in her home state of Arkansas. She stated, “I love Arkansas. My grandchildren are growing up in this state and I want to do my part in calling attention to fix problems in our state such as the problems in our justice system. We have got to do away with our old ways and bad business. However, a lot of people are going to have to take a stand to make Arkansas a great state.” I have to say I totally agree with her. Our justice system is a mess and the people of Arkansas are going to have to take a stand and make our voices heard for things to change in our government and our justice system. The first book that Mara wrote, The Boys On The Tracks; “Death, Denial, And A Mother’s Crusade To Bring Her Son’s Killer To Justice,” was a story near and dear to my heart. It centers on the deaths of two Bryant teenagers, Kevin Ives and Don Henry, in the rural area of Alexander, Arkansas. I asked Mara in my interview how she first became interested in this story. Her answer actually stunned me, but I myself actually had the same feelings about this story when the medical examiner, Fahmy Malak, made his ruling in the cause of death of Kevin and Don. According to Mara, she knew the cause of death ruling was as she quoted,” a bunch of bull.” Fahmy Malak had ruled the deaths of Kevin and Don “accidental.” According to the book, The Boys On The Tracks, Malak stated the boys had smoked twenty one marijuana cigarettes and laid down on the tracks in a drug induced stupor and the train then ran over them. While some people in Saline County believed and accepted the ruling, neither Mara nor I did and certainly not Linda Ives, Kevin’s mother. Soon after, Mara decided to meet Linda Ives. Nothing in this case added up and it screamed police corruption. Mara knew this story had to be told. According to an interview with NewsMax.com, Mara stated, “The more I learned about this investigation the less logic in it I saw. It followed a crooked path that led in many strange directions. The further I looked into this case the more curious I became. So I devoted several years to looking as far down this crooked path as I could.” In my interview with her, Mara told me she felt this story, “needed to be told.” There were so many shady areas of this case she uncovered in her research and the public, “needed to know.” I am so thankful that she wrote the book, The Boys On The Tracks. She defiantly uncovered a lot that the public didn’t know. There was so much about this case that public officials and the police tried to cover up, but Mara found the truth. I can only pray that someday, whoever killed Kevin and Don, will be found and that she will be able to write a sequel to this story about who killed them and why. Mara’s second true crime corruption story is a book called, Devil’s Knot: The True Story Of The West Memphis Three. This book centers on the deaths of three eight-year-old boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers, in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas. They were believed to be killed by three local teenagers, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr., as part of a satanic cult. According to the book, Devil’s Knot, after a month of investigating the deaths of these three boys, police focused on a local teen, Damien Echols, who was a bit “different.” Damien had been in some trouble growing up in West Memphis. After learning of Christopher, Michael and Stevie’s deaths, a juvenile officer, Jerry Driver, suspected that Damien Echols could be the boy’s killer. Driver had dealings with Damien in his juvenile years and always suspected he was in a satanic cult. Damien was questioned by the police, but insisted he had no involvement in the boy’s deaths. In a scheme set up by the West Memphis police, a local woman, Vicki Hutcheson, set out to find the truth and help the police catch the killer. She questioned another local teen, Jessie Misskelley, about Damien Echols. She asked Jessie to set up a meeting between her and Damien to find out more about him. However, the police also decided to question Jessie Misskelley and after several hours of interrogation, Jessie made a startling confession. He admitted that he himself had participated in the killings of Christopher, Michael and Stevie, but he didn’t do it alone. He confessed that Damien and another local teen, Jason Baldwin had participated too. Mara said she became interested in the West Memphis story as soon as it broke. Leaks of Jessie’s confession and satanic worship caught her attention. However, she read a report by the FBI that in a review of cases nationally, there were no cases that supported claims that the nation was seeing a wave of satanic ritual killings. Mara decided to wait until after the trials so she could do a complete investigation into this story. The police files would not be open to the public until the case was closed. After a thorough investigation, she found many holes in the state’s theory of the crime. Just like the story of Kevin Ives and Don Henry, this story reeked of unanswered questions and possible police corruption. In our interview, Mara also spoke of her care and passion for both of the books she has written. She didn’t just investigate these crimes and write a book, she became close to some of the people involved. She especially developed a close bond with Linda Ives, mother of Kevin Ives, Jason Baldwin and Lorri Davis, Damien Echols wife. She wants to see the killers of Kevin Ives and Don Henry brought to justice and the “real killers” in the West Memphis Three case brought to justice. Mara does not feel that Damien, Jason and Jessie are the real killers of Christopher, Michael and Stevie. She would like to see these guys get another trial based on hard solid evidence, and not a trial based on circumstantial evidence and an error filled confession by a mentally challenged teenager. I feel the same way. I do not feel that Damien, Jason and Jessie got a fair trial based on hard evidence. I feel they were convicted on their personal choices in the way they dressed, their choice in music, and Damien’s own choice in religion. There was no physical evidence linking these teenagers to these murders that I have ever seen or heard of. Mara has other true crime cases she would like to investigate and possibly write a book on. Some of her interests are the mysterious death of Melissa Byers, mother of Christopher Byers, who died mysteriously in her sleep, and the death of a teenager, Janie Ward, who died a mysterious death by supposedly falling off a nine-inch-high porch. Both of these stories share mystery and possible murder which really pique Mara’s curiosity. I think these stories would make a great book my self. The death of Melissa Byers has really generated a lot of questions because of her son’s death, Christopher. I wonder if this woman committed suicide because she couldn’t handle the pain of her son’s death anymore, or did her husband, Mark, somehow kill her in her sleep. Many people believe that Mark Byers may have been the person who really killed his own son, Christopher and his two friends. I personally feel it is very possible too. According to the documentary Paradise Lost; Revelations, many different prescription drugs were found in Melissa’s system; some prescribed to her and some not, and the cause and manner of her death remain undetermined to this day. As for the story of Janie Ward, I feel many things do not add up about her death. According to www.arwar.org, Janie sustained way too many injuries to have just fallen off a nine- inch-porch. The same Medical Examiner who performed Kevin Ives and Don Henry’s autopsies, Fahmy Malak, also performed Janie’s autopsy. He also ruled Janie’s death an “accident,” just as he did Kevin and Don’s. However, Janie’s death was no “accident.” In 2002 a new autopsy was formed on Janie’s body by a pathologist named Harry Bonnell. Dr. Bonnell ruled that Janie’s death was definately a homicide. Janie’s death screams cover-up and corruption in my opinion. I hope someday her death will be investigated properly and the person or persons responsible for Janie’s death are brought to justice. I also feel that anyone who is found to be involved in the possible cover-up and corruption involved in her death should be prosecuted. Mara also stated in our interview that she has a movie deal in the works based on her book, Devil’s Knot. It is going to be a major motion picture and is due out in 2008. It will be based on the facts of her book. Although she will not have a part in the actual production of the movie, she is very excited and looks forward to seeing the finished product. I myself can’t wait to see the movie. I can’t wait to see who plays the people that this story surrounds. If I could have a part in this movie I would play Jason Baldwin’s mother, Gail. However, no matter who plays what part, I can’t wait until the movie is complete. I love to write and I love true crime stories. If things don’t work out in my future as I want them too, I would love to follow in Mara’s footsteps and use my passion for true crime to maybe write about a true crime story. I would want to write books similar to Mara’s where I would investigate a story that needed more light shed on the story. I truly feel that the books Mara has written on these two particular stories have shed a lot of light on things that the public was not aware of. As for myself, both of her books gave me a whole new perspective on each of these stories that will have a huge impact on me for the rest of my life. I am the proud owner of both of Mara Leveriit’s books, The Boys on the Tracks; Death Denial and a Mothers Crusade to Bring Her Son’s Killer to Justice and Devils Knot: the True Story of the West Memphis Three. I am proud to have them personally autographed and have a personal friendship with Mara. She is a truly inspirational woman wanting to make a difference in the world through her talent of writing, and a great friend. Her books are available on www.maraleveritt.com for anyone to purchase and read. The Boys on the Tracks has just been released in paperback form. I encourage everyone to read her books.
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