Arkansas couple murdered while hiking with children *ARREST* (2 Viewers)

Guess Who said:

So they are scared the victim's people are going to say something good about them? Sheesh!

Click to expand...

Just more defense attorney shenanigans making sure the guy doesn't get a retrial based on ineffective council.

A-holish thing to do, but it's his job.

Prosecutors reject challenges to death penalty in Devil’s Den killings case​

Prosecutors say defense attorneys in the capital murder case against Andrew McGann are relying on legal arguments courts have rejected for decades as motions continue to pile up ahead of trial.

In recent filings, the state argues the latest challenges to Arkansas’ death penalty laws do not break new ground.


Defense attorneys have filed multiple motions in recent weeks challenging both the death penalty and how the case would be presented at trial. Those filings ask the court to:

• Remove the death penalty as a sentencing option
• Challenge the capital murder charge as overlapping with first-degree murder
• Argue the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment
• Claim Arkansas’ sentencing structure is unconstitutional because it does not allow juries to show mercy
• Require a judge to review victim impact statements before they are shown to a jury
• Limit or strike aggravating circumstances, including claims the crime was especially cruel

The defense has also accused Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter of violating a gag order by speaking publicly about the case — something the state disputes.

Prosecutors argue the legal challenges to the death penalty itself were “meritless,” and that they have already been settled by higher courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Arkansas’s implementation of the death penalty is constitutional, not void for vagueness, not overly broad, and do not unconstitutionally overlap the first-degree murder statute, nor does it require a jury to impose a mandatory death sentence,” prosecutors wrote in one filing.
Because of that precedent, the state is asking the judge to deny the motions.

McGann is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on April 1.

Defense requests ban on recording, broadcasting during Andrew McGann trial and hearings​

Lawyers for Andrew McGann, the 29-year-old teacher accused of killing two hikers at Devil's Den in July 2025, have requested that all recordings of the court proceedings be banned.

The filing from March 30 asks the judge to bar any broadcasting, recording, or photography of all court proceedings for McGann's case.

This comes after Washington County Prosecutor Brandon Carter reaffirmed his stance on seeking the death penalty after the defense attempted to argue the state's sentencing framework was "an incorrect statement of law."


McGann is set for another hearing in Washington County court on April 1.

I hope the judge allows recordings in there. Just because that guy doesn’t want the world to know his evil deeds doesn’t mean we lose the right to a public trial.

Defense counsel for Andrew McGann files new motions related to witness, juror treatment​

Legal representatives for accused Devil's Den killer Andrew McGann have filed eight new motions, some related to juror and witness procedures during his expected trial.


While a jury trial date has not yet been announced in the case, this recent slew of filings from April 24, 2026, is primarily focused on addressing behavior and procedures during the eventual trial.

These filings include a motion to have witnesses sequestered while at the courthouse, to require prosecutors to disclose relationships with prospective jurors, and to prevent juror exposure to witnesses and trial spectators.

At least one of the requests seek to keep jurors and witnesses from engaging in "improper contact" with each other.

"Given the nature of these proceedings and the sentencing decision the jurors may be asked to make, it is essential that steps be taken by the court to prevent any improper contact with jurors that could conceivably influence their decisions. This includes contact with witnesses, the media, or other trial attendees before and after court sessions and during breaks," one motion said.

The motion specifically asks that jurors have a designated location in the courthouse to report to immediately upon arrival each day, that jurors remain together throughout the day, and that a bailiff escort jurors out of the courthouse at the end of the day.

The defense said the requests were made in an attempt to keep the trial as fair as possible.

"Cases such as this involving widespread media coverage of a violent crime make selecting an impartial jury more difficult than in other cases," one motion said, adding the size of the surrounding community also makes jury selection difficult.

Other motions in the April 24 batch that weren't directly related to jurors and witnesses include a request for a bill of particulars specifying what the prosecution intends to argue when considering the death penalty and a request to prohibit emotional displays in the courtroom.

The prosecution has not yet filed any response to the motions.

These new filings are just the latest in a series of dozens that have been filed by the defense, many of which have been denied.

Perhaps the most consequential, a request to exclude the death penalty as a sentencing option, was denied in April.

McGann is set to appear in Washington County court on May 26.