Seduction and science are at the center of this plea. 

Heath Stocks was sexually abused by his Scoutmaster Jack Walls for over a decade, succumbing to his abuser's control and manipulation.  In 1997 at age 20, Heath participated in the murders of his father, mother, and sister at Jack’s direction to protect Jack and keep the abuse - which involved dozens of other Scouts in addition to Heath - from coming to light.  

Originally sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment without parole, Heath has requested that Governor Hutchinson commute his sentences to an aggregate term of 40 years.

Our understanding of the effects of sexual abuse on a child’s cognitive development has come a long way since 1997. Had Heath’s attorneys, the judge, or a jury been confronted with this information, there is a strong chance of a different outcome in Heath’s case. The abuse Heath endured for more than a decade cannot and should not be understated, and it plays a central role in this case. It has gone unaddressed for far too long.

According to Dr. Kathleen Faller, a world-renowned expert in the field of forensic interviews of sexual-abuse victims:

Without [Heath’s] extensive sexually abusive and sadistic relationship with his Boy Scout leader, and in the absence of treatment clearly indicated a year prior to the murders, it is reasonable to conclude that the cataclysmic situation leading to the murder of his family would not have occurred.

There is not a soul alive that can imagine the horror Heath lived through. His parents handed him over to a man who should have helped instill values but instead used Heath for his own vile satisfaction. Heath was a child whose life was changed forever by one man, the same man that would do anything to have his secret kept. Walls left nothing other than pain, death, and destruction in his wake, and the death of the Stocks family is but one of many tragedies that were directly related to Walls’s abuse."

A life was stolen, a family was destroyed and a community has been left asking how such a travesty of justice could have taken place right before its eyes.  I implore you to take a moment and familiarize yourself with this matter.  It is with great confidence that you, too, will join the list of supporters and by signing his petition, and, hopefully, becoming a voice in the justice for Heath Stocks.

Please sign Heath's Petition requesting a reduction of his sentence.  We also encourage you to contact the Parole Board of the Arkansas Department of Corrections:  Two Union National Plaza, 105 W. Capitol Ave #500, Little Rock, AR  72201  PH:  (501) 682-3850

Copies of Heath’s commutation application are available by request. Please contact Michael Kaiser for your copy, today.

LASSITER & CASSINELLI - 300 S. Spring St., Ste 800, Little Rock, AR  72201 - Tel: (501) 370-9300  Fax:  (501) 370-9306  Email:  Michael@LCArkLaw.com