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FAYETTEVILLE - Under Arkansas law, officials now state Ulmer's unborn child will not count as a "person" in this murder investigation.
Officials say this means Ricky Ray Anderson will not be charged with the alleged murder of Ulmer's child.
According to the state medical examiner's office, Ulmer's unborn baby was 10 weeks old.
And Prosecuting Attorney John Threet says since the unborn child still had two weeks to go before Arkansas law recognizes "it" as a person, Anderson cannot be charged with the murder of Ulmer's unborn child. "If the unborn child is less than 12 weeks, then there's not a homicide charge that can be attached solely for that."
Many in the community say this law is outrageous. Alicia Deavens says, "what this person did was very violent, and it was violent to two people. Just because the baby was in utero, inside, it was still a baby; it was still a child." Brian Disney is a Fayetteville biomedical engineer and pastor, and says he's outraged such a law exists in the natural state. "Whether it was at conception or it was 8 years old, it's all there in the genetics of it. I can say with some authority that child was alive and a human being and not a tadpole." With murder as the leading cause of death for pregnant women in America, some, like Disney, say not counting murder of an unborn child less than 12 weeks old as a chargeable offense means there's no penalty or reason why, in the future, those high homicide rates will come down. "Penalty is a deterrent, it really is. I know these many times are crimes of passion, but even crimes of passion are diminished by the threat of penalty or punishment. If people are getting by with those kinds of things, then there's no deterrent to diminish that level." Threet says he believes state laws are just following state abortion laws, since 12 weeks is the first trimester, but says this case may challenge those laws, for the first time. "I think what they're trying to do is remain constitutional in doing that. As far as I know there has never been a challenge to it." And it seems that first challenge could also come in the form of outspoken residents. Disney says, "the child was a human being, and it was destroyed by violence, and that should be accounted for in our society. If you don't do that, then life's not valuable anywhere alone the line, ultimately." Deavens agrees: "we have to get out. We have to be proactive. We can't just sit on our hands on this one."
Threet says he is reviewing all case information and may elevate Anderson's charges to capital murder based on other factors, before Anderson's July 27th arraignment.
The funeral of Ulmer and her unborn baby is planned for 2:00 tomorrow, at the Robinson Church of Christ in Springdale. The viewing will be there, at noon, and the two will be laid to rest at the Friendship Cemetery, just east of Springdale, towards Sonora.
Officials say this means Ricky Ray Anderson will not be charged with the alleged murder of Ulmer's child.
According to the state medical examiner's office, Ulmer's unborn baby was 10 weeks old.
And Prosecuting Attorney John Threet says since the unborn child still had two weeks to go before Arkansas law recognizes "it" as a person, Anderson cannot be charged with the murder of Ulmer's unborn child. "If the unborn child is less than 12 weeks, then there's not a homicide charge that can be attached solely for that."
Many in the community say this law is outrageous. Alicia Deavens says, "what this person did was very violent, and it was violent to two people. Just because the baby was in utero, inside, it was still a baby; it was still a child." Brian Disney is a Fayetteville biomedical engineer and pastor, and says he's outraged such a law exists in the natural state. "Whether it was at conception or it was 8 years old, it's all there in the genetics of it. I can say with some authority that child was alive and a human being and not a tadpole." With murder as the leading cause of death for pregnant women in America, some, like Disney, say not counting murder of an unborn child less than 12 weeks old as a chargeable offense means there's no penalty or reason why, in the future, those high homicide rates will come down. "Penalty is a deterrent, it really is. I know these many times are crimes of passion, but even crimes of passion are diminished by the threat of penalty or punishment. If people are getting by with those kinds of things, then there's no deterrent to diminish that level." Threet says he believes state laws are just following state abortion laws, since 12 weeks is the first trimester, but says this case may challenge those laws, for the first time. "I think what they're trying to do is remain constitutional in doing that. As far as I know there has never been a challenge to it." And it seems that first challenge could also come in the form of outspoken residents. Disney says, "the child was a human being, and it was destroyed by violence, and that should be accounted for in our society. If you don't do that, then life's not valuable anywhere alone the line, ultimately." Deavens agrees: "we have to get out. We have to be proactive. We can't just sit on our hands on this one."
Threet says he is reviewing all case information and may elevate Anderson's charges to capital murder based on other factors, before Anderson's July 27th arraignment.
The funeral of Ulmer and her unborn baby is planned for 2:00 tomorrow, at the Robinson Church of Christ in Springdale. The viewing will be there, at noon, and the two will be laid to rest at the Friendship Cemetery, just east of Springdale, towards Sonora.
