JUSTICE...DELAYED EP 14: "DAY 60 - ALL THE DETAILS" IS OUT!
JUSTICE...DELAYED EP 14: "DAY 60 - ALL THE DETAILS" IS OUT!
#FreeKevinStricklandAlready!
#FreeLamarJohnsonAlready!
#FreeChristopherDunnAlready!
Things went downhill fast after a ridiculous ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2016...
In a UNANIMOUS decision in 2016, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in the case of Lincoln v. Cassady, that only DEATH ROW PRISONERS CAN MAKE A "FREESTANDING" CLAIM OF ACTUAL INNOCENCE in habeas corpus cases.
REMINDER: NONE OF THE THREE MEN ABOVE WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR ANY COMPENSATION UNDER MISSOURI LAW!
"'If you prove your innocence in Missouri, that doesn’t matter,' Kent Gipson, attorney for Christopher Dunn says, unless you can also prove a separate constitutional violation in the case, such as the prosecution failed to provide the defense exculpatory evidence." -Tony Messenger, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/30/2021
"Messenger: Innocence isn't enough, judge says, to free a man convicted of 30-year-old murder" by Tony Messenger, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 30, 2021
SB 53, which includes a provision allowing local prosecutors to ask a judge to throw out convictions in innocence cases, FINALLY GOES INTO EFFECT AUGUST 28, 2021. The pertinent provision is called, "Motion to Vacate or Set Aside the Verdict." (Section 547.031)
But SB 53 isn't the entire solution...
UPDATE: AFTER STALLING FOR ALMOST 2 MONTHS, GOV. PARSON FINALLY SIGNED SB 53 ON JULY 14, 2021!
#FreeTheMissouriThree
Now that SB 53 has been signed into law, motions could be filed as early as August 30, 2021 asking judges to clear the convictions of Kevin Strickland, Lamar Johnson, & Christopher Dunn & SET THEM FREE! BUT if you don't have a prosecutor willing to file the motion on your behalf, you're still screwed in Missouri.
It's been reported that the Attorney General's Office under Eric Schmitt, has said that it "...WILL OPPOSE ANY CLAIM OF INNOCENCE, EVEN ONES THAT ARE MERITORIOUS [emphasis added]". Seriously, someone from his office said that? Yes.
Schmitt's stance is that "Prosecutors [in Missouri] don't have the authority to take action in cases that they feel lack integrity unless state legislators pass laws permitting this." HE'S ARGUED THIS NONSENSICAL POSITION ALL THE WAY TO THE MISSOURI SUPREME COURT...AND WON!
As a result of AG Schmitt's position, the MO House & Senate took action! SB 53 was passed in mid-May 2021. After sitting on it from May 25, 2021 until July 14, 2021, Gov. Parson finally signed it (see "The Solution (Sort Of), in a Nutshell" above). It will take effect August 28, 2021.
P.S. GOV. PARSON COULD HAVE PARDONED STRICKLAND AT ANY TIME DURING THIS PROCESS, BUT HE HAS REFUSED!
Kevin Strickland: Despite calls for a pardon of Mr. Strickland from a bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers, prosecutors, the Mayor of KCMO, & MEMBERS OF THE TEAM WHO CONVICTED MR. STRICKLAND, Gov. Parson has delayed pardoning Kevin Strickland and has said he will NOT make Strickland's pardon "a priority".
As recently as Friday, July 30
Kevin Strickland: Despite calls for a pardon of Mr. Strickland from a bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers, prosecutors, the Mayor of KCMO, & MEMBERS OF THE TEAM WHO CONVICTED MR. STRICKLAND, Gov. Parson has delayed pardoning Kevin Strickland and has said he will NOT make Strickland's pardon "a priority".
As recently as Friday, July 30, 2021, Gov. Parson granted 12 pardons and approved two commutations. Kevin Strickland was NOT among them.
#PardonKevinStricklandAlready
Schmitt has announced he's leaving the AG's office...
Schmitt is only leaving the AG's Office because HE'S RUNNING FOR A US SENATE SEAT IN 2022.
His views will not just affect Missourians if he wins.
#DefeatEricSchmitt
P.S. Schmitt's likely opponent in the Republican Senate primary is Eric Greitens, the former Missouri Governor who resigned in 2018 amid allegations of sexual blackmail and violence (but only after the Missouri House launched impeachment proceedings against him). Great.