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.https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article251833728.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "At the rally, several exonerees noted that Strickland did not get to say goodbye to his mother, who died Aug. 21 shortly after one of his hearings was delayed; that wrongful imprisonment causes a pain only those who have lived through it can understand; and that, because they were freed, they were among the lucky — that there are more Kevin Stricklands in prisons across America. “Every prosecutor’s office in this country has sent somebody innocent to prison at one point or another,” said Kenneth Nixon, executive director of the Michigan group who was exonerated in February after spending 16 years in prison. “Statistics say it. ... People get it wrong. As long as people are running the system, there is room for error.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "'Enough is enough': Exonerees, politicians, call for Kevin Strickland's release at rally," by Reporter Luke Nozicka, published by The Kansas City Star, on November 7, 2021.
GIST: "Through the prison grapevine, Reginald Griffin and other incarcerated men believed, decades ago, that Kevin Strickland did not belong there. “You’d see him walking by and you’d say, ‘Hey man, I don’t even know why that guy’s in prison,’” recalled Griffin, who was incarcerated with Strickland in the 1980s at the state prisons in Jefferson City and Cameron. “Because everybody knows he is innocent.”
Griffin — who remembered Strickland as “easy going” — was himself wrongly convicted of a prison murder in 1988. He spent time on death row before he was freed in 2012 and exonerated the next year, which cleared his name.
On Saturday, Griffin and a handful of other exonerees were among more than 50 people gathered outside the Jackson County courthouse calling for the release of Strickland, who local and federal prosecutors say is innocent in a 1978 triple murder. “Enough is enough,” said Larry Smith, who spent 26 years in prison for a Detroit murder before he was exonerated, later noting that the prosecutor’s office that put Strickland away now says that was a grave mistake.
The rally was organized, in part, by a group of exonerees based in Michigan that recently started calling themselves the National Organization of Exonerees.
They called on the judge overseeing Strickland’s evidentiary hearing that starts Monday, during which Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and her team will argue he is actually innocent, to set him free.
Among the speakers was Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, a Kansas City Democrat and chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, as well as Spencer Toder, a St. Louis Democrat running for U.S. Senate.
Toder said it was his understanding the evidence of Strickland’s innocence is “fairly resounding” and noted that when prosecutors say “this is just absurd, you know it’s absurd.”
In a 2020 investigation, The Star reported that, for decades, two men who pleaded guilty swore Strickland was not with them and two other accomplices during the killings at 6934 S. Benton Ave. in Kansas City. A third, uncharged suspect also said Strickland is innocent.
The only eyewitness to the shooting later recanted her identification of him and wanted him freed, prosecutors say.
On May 10, Strickland, 62, received rare support from Baker who said he is “factually innocent.”
Baker filed a motion seeking to free him when a new law that allowed her to do so went into effect in August.
If Baker’s office prevails and Strickland is exonerated, his imprisonment will mark the longest known wrongful conviction in Missouri.
At the rally, several exonerees noted that Strickland did not get to say goodbye to his mother, who died Aug. 21 shortly after one of his hearings was delayed; that wrongful imprisonment causes a pain only those who have lived through it can understand; and that, because they were freed, they were among the lucky — that there are more Kevin Stricklands in prisons across America. “Every prosecutor’s office in this country has sent somebody innocent to prison at one point or another,” said Kenneth Nixon, executive director of the Michigan group who was exonerated in February after spending 16 years in prison. “Statistics say it. ... People get it wrong. As long as people are running the system, there is room for error.”
Michigan exoneree Chamar Avery, who spent eight years in prison, said anybody can be the victim of wrongful conviction.
“This can happen to you, this can happen to your kids,” he said, standing beside the other exonerees. “It happened to us.”
Geoff Gerling, who worked as director of the Midwest Innocence Project in 2011 and 2012, said innocence projects get hundreds of applications seeking investigation each year.
He recalled Strickland’s case as standing out as one that deserved more research. “It’s a testament to how long this entire process really takes,” said Gerling, who is running for a spot on the Jackson County Legislature, later adding: “A lot of innocent people stay in jail for a very long time, and this is a great example of that.”
Several exonerees plan to attend Strickland’s evidentiary hearing to show their support. Evidence will be presented over several days.
It remains unclear when the judge might make a decision."
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL, FINAL, FINAL WORD: "It is incredibly easy to convict an innocent person, but it's exceedingly difficult to undo such a devastating injustice.
Jennifer Givens: DirectorL UVA Innocence Project.
