Joshua Dickens was elected constable in Faulkner County. In a jealous rage, he kidnapped a woman and tortured her, burning her with a cigarette lighter and beating her. He held her four and a half hours until she lied, confessing to seeing someone else, in hopes he would release her. He was convicted of torture, though not of rape, an odd distinction the jury made. The jury also recommended probation rather than incarceration thanks to a parade of Republican elected leaders who testified to the torturer’s good character. The judge, however, sentenced him to five years. Sadly, the next day another woman told police she had been sexually assaulted by him.
The Arkansas Leader: Good Words for Criminals
5 Oct 2005
