A seven-man, five-woman Garland County Circuit Court jury deliberated for about 45 minutes Tuesday before sentencing a local man to death by lethal injection on two counts of capital murder for the 2015 shooting deaths of his wife and daughter.
Eric Allen Reid, 57, was convicted on the two counts Friday after two days of testimony regarding the Oct. 19, 2015, deaths of his wife, Laura J. Reid, 57, and older daughter, Mary Ann Reid, 32, at their home at 607 Northwood Trail. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced on the charges Monday.
Reid's sentence is only the second death sentence handed down by a state court in Garland County since the 1950s, following the March 19, 2015, sentencing of Randy William Gay, 57, of Pearcy, for the 2011 shooting death of a local woman. Gay had previously been convicted of murder twice before for deaths in 1978 and 1991.
Jurors had returned Tuesday morning to hear further testimony in Reid's case, including victim impact statements, and closing arguments from the state, represented by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham and Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro, and Reid's attorney, Willard J. Proctor Jr., of Little Rock.
"I really appreciate the hard work that Joe and Kara put into this case," Garland County Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence said shortly after the sentence was announced. "I'm really proud to have them as deputy prosecutors."
Lawrence also said she wanted to thank the jury for all their time and diligence, and Petro noted she was especially appreciative since they had to come back for a second week to finish up the proceedings.
"I want to thank the jury for the sentence," Graham said. "I know none of them enjoyed doing it, but we respect their decision."
Presiding Judge John Homer Wright explained to jurors that they had to weigh the aggravating factors against the mitigating factors to determine if Reid should be put to death or face life in prison without parole, the only two options.
Aggravating factors were the state's contention that Reid knowingly caused the death of more than one person and caused a great risk of death to another person aside from the victims, namely his younger daughter, Heather Reid, who was struck in the arm by a bullet.
Mitigating factors included the defense contention Reid was under extreme mental or emotional distress at the time, lacked the capacity to understand his actions or conform them to the law at the time, had no significant prior criminal history, was gainfully employed with a good work history, served in the Navy for 20 years, had multiple health issues requiring medication and has taken courses to improve himself while in jail.
Graham argued Reid was not mentally disturbed, "he was just mad," and that the "unusual pressures" the defense cited such as financial problems and child raising "are the same things all couples fight over."
He said the prosecution did not deny many of the mitigating factors cited by the defense existed, but told the jury "you must decide the weight to give them" and argued "none of them provide any excuse for what he's done."
He reminded the jury "all of you said you could vote for a sentence of death" if it was merited and "you swore an oath to apply the law and come up with the appropriate verdict. I am asking you to uphold your oath and do what has to be done in this case."
Proctor stressed to the jury that "Eric Reid will never get out of prison" and "will spend the rest of his life in a 8-by-6 cell." He said the burden was on the state to prove death was warranted and otherwise the sentence had to be life in prison. "If killing Eric Reid could bring back Mary Reid and Laura Reid, no one would argue, but that's not the case."
He said, "Justice demands that vengeance be tempered with mercy" and noted the Biblical phrase "An eye for an eye" was "misquoted and misunderstood." He said, "The actual concept is no more than an eye. Built into that is the concept of mercy."
He told the jury "life and death are standing face to face here today" and it was up to them to decide. "There is one voice and it's not the loudest voice in the room, it's not the most powerful, it's not even the most compelling. But it's just as important. That's mercy. Vengeance is screaming for death and mercy says no."
In her rebuttal, Petro noted it was not about vengeance versus mercy, but about "following the procedures and following the law" and argued the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In other testimony, Alexa Reid, the daughter of Mary Reid and granddaughter of Laura Reid, described the emotional turmoil she has been in since they were "killed at the hands of my grandpa."
"I am a warrior and a fighter and (Eric Reid) will never bring me down again. This situation has made me so strong," she said. She noted how her mother loved her and her brother and "always put us first" in her life.
"I have changed so much and had to grow up fast at a young age. I'm so glad I had as much time with my mom as I did. I would tell everyone to spend as much time with your family as you can because you never know when they may be gone," Alexa Reid said.
"If I could bring my mother and grandmother back, I would never let them go," she said. "I didn't think I would be able to get through this, but I know I am stronger than ever. I am a warrior."
Heather Reid, the younger daughter of Eric and Laura Reid, testified, "We are all still reeling from what he did. I am still healing and trying to grow up myself. Some days it seems like an impossible task."
She said she is going to college and thinks about the fact neither of her parents will be there to see her graduate. She discussed the struggles she and her niece and nephew were going through in the years since the shootings.
"If they had died at the hands of a stranger it would have been easier to deal with. I don't understand why my father did this to us," she said, noting he could have divorced her mother or just left. "There are so many scenarios where we didn't have to lose so much. It didn't have to happen this way."
Clifford Ireland, a co-worker of Eric Reid he called moments after the shootings, testified Reid was "a very good worker. He would just jump in and do it, no matter what it was. He always helped."
He said Reid would "give you the shirt off his back. He was just that kind of person." When Reid called him, Ireland said, "I didn't believe it at first. I really didn't think he was for real. I was in awe."
He said he has since visited him in jail and felt he was remorseful, "like he didn't mean to do what happened."
Debbie Doughty, the wife of Laura Reid's late brother, testified Eric Reid, her brother-in-law, was "always working. Even when he came home he had jobs around the house he was doing. I felt sorry for him. He never had a chance to breathe. I don't think I ever saw him sit down."
She said the shootings "took us all by surprise as a family. None of us saw this coming." She noted there had been some "tenseness in the home" before the event. "You could cut it with a knife," she said, but noted, "he was trying to make things better. He is remorseful. None of us believe this and I don't think he believes it, either."
Dr. James Moneypenny, a psychologist hired by the defense, testified he felt Eric Reid was suffering from a mental disorder in the form of extreme anxiety that came to a head at the time of the shootings because of all their financial problems and his "dissolving marriage."
He said it was similar to what soldiers or law enforcement encounter in shootings. "He was not thinking clearly and not able to methodically assess what he was doing," he said, describing it as "the fog of war" or "a kind of tunnel vision."
Moneypenny said Reid's inability to remember the details shows "his brain wasn't processing information as it should."
Under cross by Graham, Moneypenny admitted his evaluation was based on one interview with Reid and he had not reviewed any of his medical records or the law enforcement records of the incident.
Dr. Lacey Matthews, a forensic psychologist who conducted a mental evaluation of Reid in March 2016, testified that while, based on history he provided, Reid was reportedly suffering from an unspecified anxiety disorder, "it did not rise to the level to be considered a disease or defect," noting, "he had no substantial impairment."
She noted he was able to work multiple jobs, even on the day of the incident, and "was functioning just fine." She also noted during his video interrogation after the shootings he was "very calm and cooperative" and able to hold a "very linear based, rational conversation."
Asked by Proctor if he could have been in shock at that point, but still able to appear rational, Matthews said it was possible, but "not typical."
Eric Reid testified again Tuesday, stressing that he takes "full ownership" of the charges against him. "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what could have driven me to do what I did, but I've always accepted ownership of it."
He described how he has completed multiple life skills classes while in jail, including courses dealing with anger management, cognitive awareness, domestic violence and contentious relationships.
Under cross, Graham asked, "So you took a contentious relationship course even though you killed everyone you had a contentious relationship with?" Reid responded, "That was rash." He later denied having a contentious relationship with either his wife or daughter.
"I can't bring my family back. What I can do is steer others away from even getting close to that avenue."
Local on 03/07/2018