Richard Bennett v. A.L. Lockhart, Director, Arkansas Department of Corrections

MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

In 1978, Marcia Bennett drowned in the Arkansas River near Paris, Arkansas. At the time, she and her husband of three months, Richard Bennett, were fishing from a bridge at night. They had come to Arkansas from Ohio to buy land for a local business. According to Mr. Bennett, he first threw a rope to his wife after she fell; he then jumped into the water but was unable to find her. Nine days later, her body floated to the surface, where it was found. The police questioned Mr. Bennett but closed their investigation in 1980, after the local prosecuting…