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."-----------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Judge sides with AG, postpones Strickland evidentiary hearing," by Reporter Angie Ricono, published by KCTV5 on September 1, 2021.
GIST: "The Court of Appeals has sided with the AG's office, meaning Strickland will have to stay in jail longer.
The Attorney General of Missouri claims that they were not given enough time to prepare and participate in the hearing.
In a statement from the Attorney General's spokesperson, they said "Three victims were slain forty years ago. Kevin Strickland was convicted of those crimes by a jury, and the Supreme Court recently denied his habeas petition. Those victims deserve justice."
From the ruling: "Scheduling a merits hearing on three days’ notice, on a motion to vacate a conviction of multiple murders, fails to give the Attorney General a meaningful opportunity to prepare for, and participate in, the hearing.”
The document from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District can be viewed by clicking here.
In light of this news, Kevin Strickland’s legal team sent the following statement:
"This decision highlights that the criminal legal system values process over justice. There is no doubt that Mr. Strickland is innocent and that the legislature passed this law so that local prosecutors like Jean Peters Baker can file a motion for a court to swiftly free innocent people like Mr. Strickland. Despite having been presented with the facts of this case for over 40 years—during which it continually fought to deny Mr. Strickland a day in court—the Attorney General’s office now argues that it needs more time to prepare. That is untrue. The Attorney General was preparing for a hearing all summer in Mr. Strickland’s habeas proceedings. He has offered no evidence of guilt or of having even conducted an independent investigation. Indeed, he would not even sit down to discuss the case with Mr. Strickland’s counsel or the Jackson County’s Prosecutor’s Office.
While the hearing is delayed, justice will not be denied. Mr. Strickland will have his day in court. The only time that matters now is Mr. Strickland’s. Every day the proceeding is delayed is a day he cannot get back. It is time with family he will never experience. On Saturday, Mr. Strickland’s mother will be laid to rest. And he will not be there. That is not justice. We hope that everyone who is also enraged and aghast at this process will consider and remember who decides justice in each of their jurisdictions.
The entire story can be read at:
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;
