The Missouri Supreme Court won t hear the case of a Kansas City man imprisoned for more than 40 years for a triple murder that prosecutors say he didn’t commit.
The state s high court turned 61-year-old Kevin Strickland s case down Tuesday. The current Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker supports his release. She says the evidence used to convict Strickland as a teenager in 1979 has since been “eviscerated.” A faulty witness identification has been blamed. Baker says she s pursuing all avenues to exonerate him.
His attorneys say they ll refile his case in circuit court.
Jun. 3 If Kevin Strickland's other chances at freedom fail, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker hopes she can file a motion asking a judge to exonerate him at 9 a.m. Aug. 28. That's when a bill, if signed into law by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, would clear the way for innocence claims to be brought before trial courts when a prosecutor believes a prisoner is innocent. If that happens, .
Jun. 3 Missouri Gov. Mike Parson this week passed on the chance to free Kevin Strickland, a Kansas City man who prosecutors say has spent four decades in prison for a triple murder he did not commit. On Memorial Day, Parson pardoned 36 people, and some Missourians hoped that Strickland, who turns 62 on Monday, would be among them. But the governor's office released their names Thursday, and .
St. Louis Public Radio
Attorney General Eric Schmitt could find himself involved in wrongful conviction cases. Traditionally, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office whether led by a Republican or Democrat has had a blanket policy of opposing any requests for relief in wrongful conviction cases. The crime bill waiting Gov. Mike Parson s signature could change that.
If Missouri’s elected prosecutors have evidence that a person has languished in prison for decades wrongfully, they don’t have the power to ask for a new trial.
That’s what the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in March, after St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed a motion for a new trial for Lamar Johnson.
Missouri Supreme Court declines to hear Kevin Strickland case; Jackson County prosecutor vows to pursue justice Updated: 9:44 AM CDT Jun 2, 2021 KMBC 9 News Staff Share Updated: 9:44 AM CDT Jun 2, 2021
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Show Transcript THE RELEASE OF KEVIN STRICKLAND. FOR 43 YEARS, KEVIN STRICKLAND HAS BEEN IN PRISON FOR A 1978 TRIPLE MURDER IN KANSAS CITY TODAY. MY JOB IS TO APOLOGIZE TODAY. JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR. JEAN PETERS BAKER SAYS HE IS AN INNOCENT MAN. IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE WHEN THE SYSTEM HAS MADE WRONGS. AND WHAT WE DID IN THIS CASE WAS WRONG AND SAYING NOW HE SHOULD GO FREE SO TO MR. STRICKLAND, I AM PROFOUNDLY SORRY FOR THE HARM THAT HAS COME TO YOU PROSECUTOR. PETER’S BAKER SAYS STRICKLAND’S WRONGFUL CONVICTION RELIED HEAVILY ON A WITNESS FROM THE CASE THAT WITNESS EARLY ON NAMED STRICKLAND AS A SUSPECT BUT NOT LONG AFTER CHANGED HER STORY DENYING HIS INVOLVEMENT FOR YEARS UP UNTIL HER DEATH. SHE WAS SIMPLY MISTAK