BACKGROUND: From previous post (November 20, 2021) of this Blog, at link below: "The Supreme Court appointed a Special Master last winter to review Carnes' claims of innocence. His attorneys argued why he should be released at the first evidentiary hearing in September. They say there is no physical evidence connecting Carnes to the shooting that killed White near east 29th Street and Prospect Avenue. White was found in the parking lot of what was then a Fish Town fast food restaurant. Carnes' team points to eyewitnesses who have recanted their original testimony under oath and now say Carnes wasn't the shooter. Other people also gave statements that it couldn't have been Carnes because they were with him at the time of the shooting, down the street at an apartment. Carnes' team says there's even more. "Some of the evidence is things that did not come out at the first trial and were not turned over by the prosecutor's office," Iliff said. "And that results in a constitutional violation called a Brady Violation, where evidence is not turned over. That almost always results in a new trial." Miracle of Innocence hopes Carnes will be declared innocent and released without having to go through a new trial nearly 20 years later. The Jackson County prosecutor's office would make the decision whether to re-prosecute if the judge sides with Carnes' team or dismiss charges."
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STORY: "Judge soon to decide fate of KC man who says he was wrongly convicted," by News Anchor Hall Harrison, published by KMBX news9 abc, on January 3, 2021.
GIST: "A judge will soon decide the fate of a Kansas City man who says he was wrongly convicted of murder.
Keith Carnes was found guilty in the death of Larry White nearly 20 years ago.
"Sad to say you kind of get used to it," Carnes said. "Being innocent, you know some people would be more upset than I am."
Carnes is serving life for a 2003 murder. This year, he could walk free.
"From day one, I've always had that hope. This is my year. This is my year. It's all in God's timing, you know, but yeah I've been hopeful every day," he said.
Carnes' case is back before the court.
"Hopefully, he'll see it our way," said Kent Gipson, Carnes' attorney.
Gipson said he expects a judge's recommendation soon. He said the fact this case even made it this far is remarkable.
"That's rare. The vast majority of these habeas (corpus) cases you file just get summarily denied in a one-line order," Gipson said.
He claims that the police withheld evidence and the state relied on two witnesses who later recanted their statements.
"A person's story can change a million times but physical evidence doesn't. They used testimony that doesn't match a crime scene to convict me," Carnes said.
Now, after nearly two decades, his life again depends on the same justice system that put him here.
"Things could always be worse. That's how I have to look at things," Carnes said.
The Missouri attorney general's office is fighting Carnes' exoneration, saying they'll let court records speak for themselves."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.kmbc.com/article/judge-to-soon-decide-fate-of-keith-carnes-kansas-city/38658380
