My name is Phillip Wells. I am an attorney in Jonesboro, practicing with the
firm of McDaniel & Wells. The current Attorney General of Arkansas practiced
with our firm until 2006 when he was elected to office. The Attorney General was
not involved in our firm when it was involved in this case.
I became involved in the case when Judge Burnett appointed me as an
attorney ad litem for Mr. Misskelley. It was my understanding that Mr. Misskelley
had expressed some interest in testifying in a trial of two other defendants. It was
my duty to provide advice so that he could make a choice independently. (BMHR
at 1872-73).
I had a conference with Misskelley and his lawyer Mr. Stidham. Stidham
was of the view that Misskelley had an excellent chance on appeal and that he
should not testify. (BMHR at 1873).
I also spent time with Misskelley. I met him first at the Craighead County
Courthouse. I later met him at the Craighead County Detention Center. I spent
three to four hours with him. I recall that when I was at the Detention facility the
Deputy Sheriffs were being friendly to him. They were giving him Cokes and
ABSTRACT 165
pizzas. I think he was going along with their recommendation that he consider
testifying. My recollection was that Misskelley seemed confused about his lawyer
Stidham’s view that he had good grounds for an appeal. I also recall that before he
made any final decision he had wanted to talk to his parents. It was after he talked
to his parents that he made the decision not to testify. In short, my view was that
Misskelley was capable of being influenced by others. (BMHR at 1873-1874).
CROSS EXAMINATION BY KENT HOLT
I was unaware that any tape-recording was made of the meeting at which I
was present with Misskelley and Stidham.
I had no knowledge of whether Misskelley had talked to his attorney
Stidham at the Department of Correction before I spoke with him at the Detention
Center.
I do not recall any discussion of a specific kind of plea offer. I was still
gathering information when I was communicating with Misskelley, and I never got
to the point of making a specific recommendation to him. Based on my
observations of him I felt that he was slow intellectually. He was slow in
processing everything that was going on. (BMHR 1869). He never discussed the
facts of his case with me. (BMHR 1870).
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