Saturday, July 3, 2021

Kevin Strickland: Missouri: Kansas City Star's reminds Gov. Mike Parsons that, "Kevin Strickland is still in prison, and Missouri’s shame grows - in powerful editorial...'To review: Strickland, who is Black, was convicted as a teenager in the murders of three people in Kansas City. He was found guilty by an all-white jury, largely on the basis of testimony from one woman. That witness, Cynthia Douglas, long ago recanted that testimony. Two other men convicted in the case have confessed and said Strickland was not involved. He was home watching television with his brother and talking on the phone with his girlfriend, but their testimony was ignored. In May, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said she had determined Strickland is innocent of the crime that took his freedom. More than a dozen state lawmakers signed a letter asking Parson to grant Strickland’s request for clemency. Virtually everyone connected with the case, then and now, thinks the inmate should not be in custody. Yet Strickland remains behind bars."


PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Parson’s stubborn reluctance to provide Strickland with the justice he deserves has drawn the attention of the world, and has mystified much of it. In an interview with KSHB-TV in June, the governor said he couldn’t tell if Strickland was innocent. “I am not convinced that I’m willing to put other people at risk if you’re not right,” he said Strickland is a risk to no one. His life has been discarded by a system apparently uninterested in his actual innocence. Given a chance to show some grace to a man whose life has been stolen by Missouri, Parson has instead played to his base. This year, the Missouri legislature passed a bill allowing prosecutors to seek release of a prisoner by asking a judge. We expect Parson to sign that bill, and Baker to seek Strickland’s release later this year. We expect a judge to approve it, But Missouri has some soul-searching ahead.

EDITORIAL: "Kevin Strickland is still in prison, and Missouri’s shame grows," published by The Kansa City Star on July, 2021.

GST: Friday, Gov. Mike Parson’s office released the names of 18 people he pardoned earlier in the week. They appear to be low-level, nonviolent offenders: an underage beverage purchase, a DWI, illegal hunting.

Strickland’s name was not on the list. He remains behind bars, though prosecutors have said he’s innocent of the murder charges that sent him to the penitentiary more than 40 years ago.

Parson offered no immediate explanation for his decision to leave Strickland off the list, probably because it is inexplicable. 

To review: Strickland, who is Black, was convicted as a teenager in the murders of three people in Kansas City. He was found guilty by an all-white jury, largely on the basis of testimony from one woman.

That witness, Cynthia Douglas, long ago recanted that testimony. Two other men convicted in the case have confessed and said Strickland was not involved. He was home watching television with his brother and talking on the phone with his girlfriend, but their testimony was ignored.

In May, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said she had determined Strickland is innocent of the crime that took his freedom. More than a dozen state lawmakers signed a letter asking Parson to grant Strickland’s request for clemency.

Virtually everyone connected with the case, then and now, thinks the inmate should not be in custody.

Yet Strickland remains behind bars.

Parson’s stubborn reluctance to provide Strickland with the justice he deserves has drawn the attention of the world, and has mystified much of it. In an interview with KSHB-TV in June, the governor said he couldn’t tell if Strickland was innocent.

“I am not convinced that I’m willing to put other people at risk if you’re not right,” he said.

Strickland is a risk to no one. His life has been discarded by a system apparently uninterested in his actual innocence. Given a chance to show some grace to a man whose life has been stolen by Missouri, Parson has instead played to his base.

This year, the Missouri legislature passed a bill allowing prosecutors to seek release of a prisoner by asking a judge. We expect Parson to sign that bill, and Baker to seek Strickland’s release later this year.

We expect a judge to approve it, too.

But Missouri has some soul-searching ahead.  It isn’t enough to say mistakes are made, and cases like Strickland’s are unavoidable. The state can’t rob a man of his life and then say oops.

Who pays a penalty if Strickland is exonerated? No one. Missouri will apparently not compensate Strickland for his four decades in prison. That means taxpayers are off the hook for the state’s denial of the inmate’s civil rights.

There are simply too many holes in the criminal justice system. It is simply too hard for prisoners to claim actual innocence once in custody. Too often, the innocent remain imprisoned while the guilty go free.

Lawyers have worked for years to obtain freedom for Kevin Strickland. The Kansas City Star helped bring his case to the public’s attention. Now his story has circulated across the nation, prompting outrage and confusion.

Parson had a chance — and still has a chance — to address that outrage and set Strickland free. Instead, this Independence Day, he’ll be celebrating while denying Strickland his independence. If you see  him out and about — in Branson, maybe, where he was on Friday — ask him how that’s OK. "

The entire editorial can be read at:

https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article252549853.html

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;
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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;