BACKGROUND: "
The case against Strickland, who was 18 when he was arrested, was “thin from its inception” and relied almost entirely on the testimony of a traumatized woman who was shot during the murders, prosecutors now say. They began reviewing Strickland’s conviction in November after speaking with his lawyers and reviewing a Star investigation into his innocence claim. For decades, two men who pleaded guilty in the April 25, 1978, murders at 6934 S. Benton Ave. swore Strickland was not with them and two other accomplices during the shooting. The lone eyewitness also recanted and wanted Strickland released. A third suspect, who was never charged, said in 2019 that he knew there “couldn’t be a more innocent person than” Strickland, according to a Midwest Innocence Project investigator."“M.O. Supreme Court declines to hear Kevin Strickland’s case. Prosecutors say he’s innocent,” by Reporter Luke Nozicka, published by The Kansas City Star on June 1, 2021.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: ""Just No Mercy: "Wrongfully charged." "Tainted." "A profound error we must correct now." Those are some of the ways prosecutors in Jackson County have described the conviction of Kevin Strickland for a 1978 triple murder — but that's not how Gov. Mike Parson sees it. Earlier this month, he described calls to pardon Strickland, who has spent 41 years in prison, as "not a priority." Then, on June 23, he told KSHB-TV he is "not convinced" of Strickland's innocence and suggested that the decision to free the inmate would "put other people at risk" if it turned out to be wrong.
WEEKLY ROUND-UP OF RIGHTOUS RAGE: Entry, by staff of the Riverfront Times on this really neat ranting space, is headed 'Just No Mercy.'...Published on June 29, 2021. (The Riverfront Times (RFT) is described on Wikipedia as a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri.)
GIST: "Just No Mercy: "Wrongfully charged." "Tainted." "A profound error we must correct now." Those are some of the ways prosecutors in Jackson County have described the conviction of Kevin Strickland for a 1978 triple murder — but that's not how Gov. Mike Parson sees it. Earlier this month, he described calls to pardon Strickland, who has spent 41 years in prison, as "not a priority." Then, on June 23, he told KSHB-TV he is "not convinced" of Strickland's innocence and suggested that the decision to free the inmate would "put other people at risk" if it turned out to be wrong. For a former sheriff, Parson should be embarrassed. He not only insults the prosecutors who have sought to correct the injustice, but to then essentially admit that (he) doesn't have evidence to back up his reticence? That he just doesn't feel like taking a risk on freeing an innocent man? It would be laughable if it wasn't so monstrous. Parson is now embroiled in fighting his own party's anti-abortion extremists to save the state budget, but he can't be bothered to listen to law enforcement standing up for Strickland — it's clear where Parson's priorities lie."
The entire rant can be read at:
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2021/06/29/the-big-mad-simone-biles-imos-advantage-and-anti-abortion-sore-losers
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog; -----------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
