Kevin Strickland: Missouri: Bulletin: Major (Welcome) Development: Governor Parson signs bill giving prosecutors power to fix wrongful convictions,| KCTV (Reporter Jackson Hicks) reports..."Missouri Governor Mike Parson today signed Senate Bill 53 into law. There is a lot included in the bill, but one aspect getting a lot of attention is that the bill gives prosecutors the power to bring old cases back to court. That means, if prosecutors think a mistake was made in a case, they now have the power to fix it. This move directly affects Kevin Strickland, who was convicted of a triple murder in Kansas City in 1978 and has always maintained his innocence."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Cases of innocent men freed from prison include Fred Bledsoe, Richard Jones, Lamonte McIntyre and most recently, Pete Coones.  These have some things in common. First, prosecutors helped secure their paths to freedom; and second, the men are all from Kansas.

Missouri is one of the toughest states for a prisoner to prove innocence, even if a horrible mistake is made. “I think there are a number of things that are unique about Missouri, or at least a number of things that when they come together, make Missouri a place where it is it can be very difficult for an innocent person to be free,” said Tricia Rojo Bushnell with the Midwest Innocence Project. “We just really want to thank the legislature for taking this action.”

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STORY: "Governor Parson signs bill giving prosecutors power to fix wrongful convictions," by Reporter Jackson Hicks, published by KCTV on July 14, 2021.

GIST: "Missouri Governor Mike Parson today signed Senate Bill 53 into law.

There is a lot included in the bill, but one aspect getting a lot of attention is that the bill gives prosecutors the power to bring old cases back to court.  That means, if prosecutors think a mistake was made in a case, they now have the power to fix it.

This move directly affects Kevin Strickland, who was convicted of a triple murder in Kansas City in 1978 and has always maintained his innocence.

t Innocence Project

The Midwest Innocence Project and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker agree with him.  In fact, Baker has openly apologized to Kevin Strickland, who has been in prison for 43 years.

Cases of innocent men freed from prison include Fred Bledsoe, Richard Jones, Lamonte McIntyre and most recently, Pete Coones.  These have some things in common. First, prosecutors helped secure their paths to freedom; and second, the men are all from Kansas.

Missouri is one of the toughest states for a prisoner to prove innocence, even if a horrible mistake is made.

“I think there are a number of things that are unique about Missouri, or at least a number of things that when they come together, make Missouri a place where it is it can be very difficult for an innocent person to be free,” said Tricia Rojo Bushnell with the Midwest Innocence Project. “We just really want to thank the legislature for taking this action.”

The action by the legislature, and now Governor Parson, opens a pathway for innocent prisoners. A prosecutor can bring a case back to court.

That pathway is a lifeline for Kevin Strickland. Even though others have confessed to the murders he was convicted of. His attorneys have appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court and to the governor to no avail.  Strickland has an evidentiary hearing scheduled for next month, but this latest action gives him yet another avenue to possible freedom."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/governor-parson-signs-bill-giving-prosecutors-power-to-fix-wrongful-convictions/article_94b4d962-e4e9-11eb-a7a0-5396fe6bda9c.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;