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Arkansas Supreme Court rules on prior conviction, expungements |
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Tuesday, 12 July 2005 19:00 |
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Little Rock, Arkansas resident James Orval Davidson, 52, was convicted in 1994 of sexually abusing a child. But authorities helped him go back to preying on children when they allowed him to expunge, or erase, his criminal record under a 1975 "first-time" offender law.
Davidson was also allowed to continue hurting his victim. Nine years
later, in 2003, he was again convicted on two counts of sexual abuse of
the same child, who was still a minor. Prosecutors shared his prior
conviction with a jury, despite the fact that it was officially no
longer a part of his criminal history. Davidson appealed. Last month,
Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Hannah wrote that while the
state's First Offender Act was intended to allow "a chance for a fresh
start, it was not intended to allow persons to commit subsequent
criminal acts and have prior admission of guilt shielded..."
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