Retrial may force budget cuts
GRANGEVILLE, Idaho – Facing the prospect of retrying a man convicted of murder in 1983, Idaho County commissioners say they are worried about how to pay for another long, expensive trial.
Mark Lankford, 51, and his brother, Bryan, were convicted in the 1983 slaying of a Texas couple while the Lankfords were camping in the Idaho wilderness.
Mark Lankford was sentenced to Idaho’s death row; his brother is serving a life sentence.
But earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that Mark Lankford must be retried or released because of an error in jury instructions during his 1984 trial.
On Monday, Idaho County Prosecutor Kirk MacGregor said he intends to retry the case and has already reviewed old files and contacted witnesses.
Mark Lankford’s first trial and post-conviction appeal cost Idaho County about $322,000, but that sum is a fraction of the cost of modern-day trials and appeals, officials said.
County officials say the price tag could reach $1 million, an expense not covered by the county’s $12 million budget for 2008.
“I don’t know how we can pay for it, frankly,” Commissioner Skip Brandt told the Lewiston Tribune on Thursday. “In order to protect this guy, to give him another chance, the citizens are going to have to go without road maintenance and go without all the amenities and we’re going to have to start scraping.”
Commission Chairman Randy Doman said the county does have some surplus money from the previous budget year. But he said department budgets may be trimmed and other cost savings explored to pay for Lankford’s second trial.
“It’s just tough on small, rural counties that don’t have a large population,” Doman said. “And it’s doubly tough when you’ve already dug deep and paid for one (trial). It’s just frustrating that somebody who spent 25 years looking for loopholes finally found one and the rest of us have to pay for it.”
Commissioner Jim Rehder has suggested offering Lankford a plea agreement that would include a fixed sentence. But MacGregor rejected that option.
“Absolutely not,” MacGregor said in an e-mail message to the newspaper. “We are really working hard on this case.”
The Lankfords were convicted in 1983 in the beating deaths of U.S. Marine Capt. Robert Bravence, 27, and his wife, Cheryl, 25.
Today, Mark Lankford maintains he is guilty only of being an accessory after the fact – a crime in which he says the statute of limitations has already passed. Since the conviction, Bryan Lankford has filed court documents and written letters with his confession, claiming to have committed the murders alone even though he told a different story when he testified against his brother at trial.
Mark Lankford hopes he’ll be released soon. He told the Associated Press on Monday that he is planning to leave the state if that happens.
But Idaho County Chief Deputy John J. Nida said that when Lankford is returned to the county he will be jailed and held until trial.
“I don’t foresee any problems,” Nida said. “He’s not going to get special treatment. He’s going to be treated like all inmates in our jail charged with a felony.”