A Courageous Woman

Edith Marcum defined the meaning of the word courage. In 1984, the loving wife, mother of four young daughters, and friend to many was diagnosed with terminal, inoperable Ewing Sarcoma Bone Cancer. She was given only months to live. Mrs. Marcum was a survivor. She was also determined to live to see her daughters graduate high school. Rather than give up, Mrs. Marcum put her faith in God and her family. Mrs. Marcum’s husband Marty mortgaged their family home to send Mrs. Marcum to M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, TX. She underwent two months of brutal radiation treatment. She lost her hair, fingernails, and suffered with blisters on the inside of her mouth. Through it all she never gave up. Eventually the tumor shrank and was removed. For two more years Mrs. Marcum put up a valiant fight. Her faith combined with her loving family allowed Mrs. Marcum to beat the odds. In late 1986 she went to her doctor and learned for the first time she was cancer free. The prayers of Mrs. Marcum and her family had been answered.

The financial toll the cancer had taken on the Marcum family was great. In December 1986 Mrs. Marcum took a night job at a south side Rite Aid Pharmacy to help pay the large medical bills incurred as a result of the cancer treatments. Mrs. Marcum took the night shift so she could spend as much time as possible with her family. On February 11, 1987 Edith Marcum went to work planning to return home early the next morning. Sadly, three career criminals decided to go from stealing money from vending machines to robbing a south side Rite Aid. Their actions would prevent Mrs. Marcum from ever returning home again.

A Senseless Killing

Around 9PM on February 11, 1987, street thugs Arliss White, 33 and Stephen Pearson, 36, entered the south side Rite Aid where Mrs. Marcum was working. Both were wearing ski masks. Their driver, John Buckner, 34, waited for them outside. When Pearson and White entered the Rite Aid they took all the cash from the drawer and demanded the safe be opened so they could take the remaining money. Unfortunately Edith Marcum did not have access to the safe’s combination. Edith Marcum only had time to say “I can’t” before Arliss White shot her in the abdomen. White and Pearson then ran to the getaway car and they sped away. While driving off the getaway vehicle clipped the fender of a car. The driver of that car followed them for a short distance and wrote the license plate number in the dust on the hood of his car.

Mrs. Marcum once again was not going to give up without a fight. Columbus Police Officer Dan Cockerham was the first to arrive on the scene. He gave Mrs. Marcum CPR for about 15 minutes until the Columbus Fire Department arrived and transported Mrs. Marcum to Mount Carmel West Hospital. Surgeons operated on Mrs. Marcum twice and for 13 hours she put up an incredible fight to survive. Unfortunately the gunshot was more than Mrs. Marcum’s body could handle. On February 12, 1987 Mrs. Marcum would pass away as a direct result to the gunshot fired by Arliss White. She never got to see her daughters graduate.

Arrested and Convicted

Within a month all three men were identified. Pearson, one of the masked men, was shot between the eyes and killed in a shoot out over a drug deal in Arizona before police could ever question him. Arliss White was arrested and claimed he was running cocaine and marijuana between Ohio and Florida during the time of the murder. John Buckner was arrested and refuted White’s statements. Buckner said White told him that he accidentally shot Marcum.

Police and prosecutors said White’s actions were intentional. They said White, who as a juvenile was arrested and linked to 24 drugstore robberies and had been arrested 13 times as an adult before killing Mrs. Marcum, shot her because she could not open the safe. In July 1989 Assistant Prosecutor Michael Burns stated, "Buckner was genuinely upset that Edith Marcum was killed. Arliss didn't care; it just didn't matter. If he had to go to prison for a time, he'd go to prison for a time, but he wasn't going to feel sorry for something he had done. Edith Marcum was timid enough to say she didn't know how to open the safe, and that was enough for Arliss to kill her."

White was originally charged with Aggravated Murder with death penalty specifications. Unfortunately Pearson and White were wearing ski masks and that made it impossible for jurors to determine the real shooter. This forced the jury to find White guilty of lesser-included charges. White was convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter and Aggravated Robbery. He was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 28 to 53 years in prison. White is now up for parole. Buckner was convicted of aggravated robbery for driving the getaway car. He was sentenced to five to 25 years in prison. He is now free.

No Parole

Arliss White is a career criminal who started committing crimes at the age of 14. He has no respect for human life and has no problem killing anyone who stands in the way of his crimes. This is evident by his senseless killing of Edith Marcum. In addition, White has yet to accept responsibility for Mrs. Marcum’s murder and has never shown remorse for his actions. In December 1999 White suffered a stroke and now claims he has dementia, affecting his memory and perception. He believes this should allow him to be released on parole. There is absolutely NO WAY Arliss White should walk out of prison before serving his maximum sentence. Mr. White is a serious threat to the community. Arliss White needs to stay behind bars and serve the rest of his sentence in order to protect society. In addition, releasing White would be a complete injustice to Edith Marcum and her family. Based on the fact Arliss White killed a loving wife and mother of four young daughters, has been committing crimes most of his life, and still refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes we believe Mr. White should serve his maximum sentence of 53 years.