LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP, abc24.com) - Prosecutor and congressional hopeful Scott Ellington says costs to the state and potential juror misconduct factored into his decision to agree to the deal that freed the three men convicted in the murders of three Cub Scouts in 1993.
Ellington said Wednesday that concerns about the cost to the state if the three men known as the "West Memphis Three" were acquitted factored into his decision to support the deal. The three were released in August under a plea deal whereby their original convictions were set aside and they pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Ellington, a Democrat running for an east Arkansas congressional seat, spoke with attorneys for the three men at a panel discussion on the case at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Bowen School of Law.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
