Marvin Rice

Marvin Rice was convicted of first and second-degree murder in 2011.

The trial court sentenced Rice to death for the first-degree murder charge and life without parole for the other charge, although the jury deadlocked on sentencing, with 11 voting to spare Rice’s life. On appeal in 2020, Rice was resentenced to life without parole for the charge of first-degree murder. He awaits resentencing on the second charge.

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Marvin Rice

David Barnett

David Barnett was convicted by jury trial in 1996 on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action.

He was sentenced to death. His appeals on the grounds of ineffective trial counsel and prosecutorial misconduct were denied in 2015, but he was granted habeas relief in 2018. Ultimately, he was resentenced to life without parole in 2019.

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David Barnett

Mark Christeson

Mark Christeson was convicted in 1999 of three counts of capital murder and sentenced to death.

His appointed counsel failed to file for habeas relief within the stated deadline, yet the courts denied Christeson’s appeal. Christeson was granted a stay in 2014, with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the 8th Circuit Court’s earlier decision. Despite continued efforts by his attorneys, Christeson was executed in 2017.

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Mark Christeson

Walter Barton

Walter Barton was convicted by jury trial in 1991 for first-degree murder.

After undergoing a total of five trials, including multiple changes of venue and two mistrials, Barton was sentenced to death. Barton was denied habeas relief in 2018. Despite filings in 2020 claiming innocence and incompetence for execution, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected Barton’s habeas corpus petition. Barton was executed in May of 2020.

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Walter Barton

What We Do

The Midwest Capital Habeas Network (MCHN) is dedicated to helping lawyers and capital defense teams meet their professional obligations to provide their clients with the best representation possible.

MCHN was created in 2022 to assist lawyers representing death-sentenced clients in habeas corpus proceedings in the 8th Circuit. Of the states within the territory of the 8th Circuit, only South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas have the death penalty.

MCHN’s website provides the latest news regarding legal developments in national death penalty cases, a searchable database of death penalty cases from states in the 8th Circuit, and resources and training for attorneys.

MCHN’s legal staff includes litigators, legal scholars, and educators with experience and expertise in death penalty litigation, in addition to our skilled paralegals and energetic interns. We collectively have over seven decades’ experience in the representation of persons facing the death penalty and in the litigation of issues common to death penalty cases. We have successfully litigated death penalty cases in state and federal courts in the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, and we have offered support and training in every death penalty jurisdiction in the United States.

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Numbers

People currently on death row in SD, NE, MO, AR as of Jan. 1, 2022
Source: Death Penalty Information Fact Sheet, updated June 24, 2022
Executions of death row inmates in the states of SD, NE, MO, and AR since the 1976 reinstatement of capital punishment in the U.S.
Source: Death Penalty USA, Winter 2022 report
Death row exonerations in SD, NE, MO, and AR since 1973
Source: Death Penalty Information Fact Sheet, updated June 24, 2022

Successful Cases

MCHN has identified death penalty cases with successful outcomes, whether it be exoneration clemency, or resentencing to something other than the death penalty. Here are some of the success stories.