Barry Lee Fairchild
Encyclopedia
Barry Lee Fairchild was an American
convicted kidnapper, rapist, and murderer.
nurse, after police received information from a confidential informant implicating Fairchild and his brother. At trial, he recanted his two videotape
d confessions, claiming that Pulaski County Sheriff
Tommy F. Robinson
and Chief Deputy
Larry Dill had beaten
and threatened to kill him unless he confessed, then rehearsed him before the second confession was taped. His attorneys claimed that Fairchild was mentally retarded
, and did not have the capacity to know right from wrong. He was convicted on 2 August 1983, and sentenced to death.
In 1993, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
ruled the state had failed to prove that Fairchild had killed Mason, and ordered his sentence commuted to life without parole. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
reversed the District Court in 1994. Fairchild was executed at the Varner Unit
near Grady
after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a final appeal.
Barry Lee Fairchild's own sister identified the watch he had pawned and referred to it as "the dead girls". At Fairchild's final appeal he claimed that he was "going through her purse when she was shot".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
convicted kidnapper, rapist, and murderer.
Case
Fairchild was arrested for the 2 February 1983 kidnapping, rape, and murder of Marjorie Mason, a 22 year old United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
nurse, after police received information from a confidential informant implicating Fairchild and his brother. At trial, he recanted his two videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
d confessions, claiming that Pulaski County Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Tommy F. Robinson
Tommy F. Robinson
Tommy Franklin Robinson is a politician from the state of Arkansas.-Early life:Robinson was born in Little Rock and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He served in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1963....
and Chief Deputy
Chief Deputy
Chief deputy is a rank title used in American law enforcement. The position of chief deputy is primarily found within the office of sheriff throughout the United States. In some smaller agencies, a chief deputy may serve as the senior ranking officer below the sheriff...
Larry Dill had beaten
Coercion
Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...
and threatened to kill him unless he confessed, then rehearsed him before the second confession was taped. His attorneys claimed that Fairchild was mentally retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
, and did not have the capacity to know right from wrong. He was convicted on 2 August 1983, and sentenced to death.
In 1993, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas is the United States District Court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties: Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Craighead, Conway, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Dehsa, Drew, Faulkner, Fulton, Grant,...
ruled the state had failed to prove that Fairchild had killed Mason, and ordered his sentence commuted to life without parole. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
reversed the District Court in 1994. Fairchild was executed at the Varner Unit
Varner Unit
The Varner Unit is a high-security state prison of the Arkansas Department of Correction in Varner, unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. It is located along U.S. Highway 65, near Grady, and south of Pine Bluff...
near Grady
Grady, Arkansas
Grady is a city in Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 523 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Grady is located at ....
after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a final appeal.
Barry Lee Fairchild's own sister identified the watch he had pawned and referred to it as "the dead girls". At Fairchild's final appeal he claimed that he was "going through her purse when she was shot".