By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The sentencing phase began this morning in the trial of a man convicted of bringing two of his children to rural St. Francis County from Memphis and abandoning them to die.
Alex Ware, 35, of Memphis faces either the death penalty or life in prison without parole, for the incidents which allegedly took place on two separate days in June of 1999. The victims were Xavier Alexander Harrell, 1 and K-Von Harrell, 2.
The defense called four witnesses, including two of Ware's other sons, Jamaal Ware, 14 and Sherman Perez Ware, 15. Both asked that their father be spared.
In addition, Angela Lewis, 18, of Memphis, a sister of Ware, testified. Under examination by defense counsel Raymond Abramson, she said that at the time of the deaths of the children, she was legally in Ware's custody, and said they had a good relationship. "We had our ups and downs but we pretty much got along," she said.
She also asked the jury to spare her brother's life.
"What purpose would it serve killing him?" she said. "It's not going to bring the child back, or the other child. I understand he did a crime, but what purpose would it serve?" She said Ware's death would be painful to his family, and said he was the only parent some of the children had.
"I've dealt with a lot of death," she said. "Plus, I'm pregnant, and my child will never know his uncle. He's still part of our family."
Under cross examination, Prosecutor Fletcher Long Jr. asked Lewis if the two dead children had trusted Ware to take care of them.
"Do you know of any worse thing a man can do than to take his two loving, trusting children and murder them?" he asked.
"No," she said.
The defense also called Dr. Rebecca Caperton, a Memphis psychologist, who had reviewed the trial material, watched Ware in court and interviewed him.
Caperton said Ware was not cooperative in her interviews with him, but judging from what she had observed, he was suffering from a delusional disorder.
"Delusions are fixed beliefs that are not necessarily fitting reality," she said. "These are not lies. The person really believes them."
She said the problem comes when a person's delusions come in contact with reality. She said one reason Ware had changed his story so often could be that he was having to change his delusions to avoid facing what he had done.
"When these people do things that are horrifying to themselves and others, they can make up a set of circumstances to keep from facing it," she said.
On cross examination, Long asked if Ware should not be held accountable because of his mental condition. He had earlier claimed that many acts, such as the ones of which Ware was convicted, could be considered irrational.
"Once we get into that (accountability), can we say he did this, and it was just awful, but it's so awful that he shouldn't be held responsible?"
"I didn't say that," she answered.
After that, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gary Mitchusson gave the prosecution's statement. He said there were aggravating circumstances which he believed the state had proven. One is that Ware knowingly caused the death of Xavier and K-von Harrell. One was that he did it an an "excessively cruel and depraved manner."
He said the murders were premeditated.
"Mr. Ware picked and chose in a very deliberate manner the way in which he was going to murder his children," Mitchusson said.
According to Mitchusson, the first child, 1-year old Xavier, was thrown into some weeds because it was likely the child would die there. K-Von, being older, might have been able to crawl to the road, so K-Von was thrown into water to drown.
"He took from them everything they were, and everything they were ever going to be," he said, adding that the aggravating circumstances should outweigh any mitigating circumstances brought up by the defense.
In his statement, Abramson said the jury must find that the children were killed "in the same criminal episode." He said the children were killed several days apart.
He also argued with the "especially cruel or depraved" statement. He said the children were not tortured, which is one of the definitions of "cruel." He also said he isn't sure children that age could experience mental anguish.
"And can we say Alex Ware intended to induce mental anguish or serious physical abuse or torture? I don't think so," Abramson said.
He also said the term "depraved" doesn't fit Ware. He said one definition of depraved is that the defendant is indifferent to suffering -- and he conceded that point. However, he also said depraved also means relishing the pain and suffering being inflicted, and he said Ware did not relish it.
Abramson said the mitigating circumstances included Ware being in an extreme state of emotional disturbance. He also said that Dr. Caperton had found him delusional.
Abramson also claimed that killing Ware would not be a deterrent to anyone else, in a similar circumstance, who might kill his children.
"No matter what we do here today, these horrible things are going to happen again," he said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The flu has reared its head in St. Francis County, and may stay for awhile due to a decrease in influenza vaccinations this year.
Dr. Curt Patton of East Arkansas Children's Clinic said influenza type A, the most common form of flu, was found in several children last week in the St. Francis County area.
"Last week we sent out several tests on children that came in with flu-like symptoms. We got those tests back today and all of them tested positive for flu. The Health Department collects all of the data and generally reports an outbreak. But, often that report comes out once everyone knows about it and often, prevention is better than a cure," said Patton.
An official with Baptist Family Medical Clinic also said that they'd seen an increase in the number of cases. According to the representative, the first cases were noted just prior to Christmas.
According to Patton, the flu vaccine is the best means of prevention, but noted that his office has given fewer shots this year than they have in the past, which may be because of the statewide delay in receiving the vaccination.
A spokesperson with Dr. James Meredith's office agreed, saying, "We've only seen a couple of cases so far but it is out there now. We've given fewer shots this year, but a lot of people may have gone to the health department because they received their vaccine earlier than we did."
Bonnie Dodson with the St. Francis County Health Department said, "We're in the middle of the flu season now so it isn't too late to get the shot. We keep the vaccination on hand until April 15, so anyone interested in getting a flu shot can come in."
"If you haven't gotten a flu shot, I would advise going to your physician and getting one to try to stave off the flu. You may not get complete protection against the flu but you still have a better chance of not catching it," Patton said. "There are a lot of people that try to avoid crowds during flu season. They stay away from large crowds during the week and then go to church on Sunday which basically defeats the purpose."
Patton said there are several new prescriptions on the market that help fight the flu symptoms.
"Ten years ago people generally had to just sit it out with chicken soup and rest. Now, there are a number of prescriptions that shorten the duration of the illness, and are available through your doctor. True influenza takes 10 to 14 days to get rid of, and that's a long time to be out of school or work. My suggestion is if you think you have the flu, go and see your doctor," Patton added.
Funeral services are set for Wednesday afternoon for four members of a Colt family who died in an explosion at their home Saturday morning.
Valerie Elliott, 26, and her three children, Christeen, 7; Jeffery, 5 and Jessica, 1, died in a house fire caused by a gas leak just before 6 a.m. Saturday.
The funerals will be held at 2 p.m. at Morgan Funeral Home on Highway 1 South in Forrest City. Burial will follow in Hughes Cemetery.
A memorial fund has been set at First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas to help offset funeral expenses. Contributions to the Valerie Elliott Family Memorial Fund may be made at any FNBEA branch.
A Forrest City man awaiting bed space in the state prison on previous drug convictions has again been arrested on drug charges.
Henry Allen Kimble, 33, 2120 Indian Trail, Forrest City, was arrested Monday morning after police, knowing there were outstanding municipal court warrants for his arrest, stopped Kimble's vehicle on East St. Andrews Street.
Inside the vehicle, Forrest City Police Department officers found a mobile crystal methamphetamine lab. During a search of the car, police found two grams of crystal methamphetamine, a 9mm rifle, anhydrous ammonia and "other items used to manufacture methamphetamine at a clandestine lab," according to the police report.
In addition to the drugs, Kimble was accompanied by his young son, police reported.
Kimble was sentenced last year to the Arkansas Department of Corrections, but was free until bed space at the prison became available.
He is scheduled to appear in Forrest City Municipal Court Wednesday on the current charges of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) with intent to deliver, manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of anhydrous ammonia in an unlawful container, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of firearms by certain persons and endangering the welfare of a minor. He was also charged with six counts of failure to appear.
The Forrest City City Council will meet at 7 tonight at city hall.
One item on the agenda items is the second reading of an ordinance to define purchasing procedures.