in a 4-3 ruling, the Arkansas Supreme Court justices reversed the conviction of Billy Dale Green

in a 4-3 ruling, the Arkansas Supreme Court justices reversed the conviction of Billy Dale Green. Green was convicted of 4 counts of capital murder and 1 count of kidnapping in the July 29, 1998, slayings of a family.
Killed were 30-year-old Carl Allen Elliott; his wife 27-year-old Lisa; and their 2 children, 8-year-old Felicia and 6-year-old Gregory. The majority found there was reversible error in the case.
Green has maintained his innocence and says his son committed the murders. Green's son, Charles Wayne "Chad" Green, was sentenced in 2004 to 40 years in prison for his role in the murders. In exchange for testimony against his father, Chad Green previously pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder and kidnapping. He also pleaded no contest in an unrelated case to 2 counts of raping a 7-year-old girl 8 years before.