Kevin Strickland: Missouri: Bulletin: Judge sets first week of October for hearing on whether or not to vacate Kevin Strickland's 1979 triple murder conviction, KSNB (Reporter Katelyn Brown) reports..."The path toward possible freedom for Kevin Strickland became a little clearer Friday morning. A Jackson County Circuit Court judge identified the first week of October as when the court will hear evidence on whether or not to vacate Strickland's 1979 triple murder conviction. As part of Friday's ruling, the judge rejected Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt's case to relocate the hearing to another county."

STORY: "Judge sets trial date to hear evidence in possible release of Kevin Strickland," by Reporter Katelyn Brown, published by KSNB on September 17, 2021.

GIST: "The path toward possible freedom for Kevin Strickland became a little clearer Friday morning.

A Jackson County Circuit Court judge identified the first week of October as when the court will hear evidence on whether or not to vacate Strickland's 1979 triple murder conviction.

As part of Friday's ruling, the judge rejected Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt's case to relocate the hearing to another county. 

The judge argued the Jackson County is independent and qualified, so the case will remain there. 

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker used a new law passed in Missouri to file for the exoneration of Strickland. 

He has served decades in prison for a triple-murder that many now believe Strickland is not guilty of. 

Schmitt does not believe Strickland is innocent and has fought against the case. 

Before the passage of Senate Bill 53, Strickland was hopeful Gov. Mike Parson would issue a pardon, but Parson said he could not be sure Strickland was innocent."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/judge-sets-trial-date-to-hear-evidence-in-possible-release-of-kevin-strickland-case

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;