PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In Carnes’ case, two witnesses, Wendy Lockett and Lorraine Morrow, maintained for nearly a decade that Carnes chased White into the parking lot and shot him multiple times. Lockett said she recognized Carnes because of his eye patch, which no other drug dealer she knew at the time had. But in 2014, Lockett recanted her testimony, alleging that she had been coerced into identifying Carnes. Morrow also recanted her testimony that year. In a visit to then-Assistant Prosecutor Amy McGowan’s office, she recalled pointing to the picture of a man named Reginald Thomas, not Carnes, in a photo lineup. But McGowan allegedly pressured her into identifying Carnes by saying other witnesses had pointed him out. McGowan also prosecuted the case of Ricky Kidd, a Kansas City man who spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he did not commit. Kidd was exonerated and freed in 2019."
STORY: "Missouri high court throws out Keith Carnes conviction in Kansas City murder, orders release," by Reporters Luke Nozicka and Matti Gellman, published in the Kansas City tar, on April 05, 2022.
GIST: "The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the convictions of Keith Carnes, a Kansas City man who contends he is innocent in a 2006 murder and that prosecutors failed to disclose evidence.
Carnes, 51, will be released from prison within 30 days unless Jackson County prosecutors seek to retry him.
The state’s highest court determined Carnes met his burden of arguing that the state failed to disclose material evidence, in what is known as a Brady violation, that could have helped his case.
His other claims were denied.
Christopher Iliff, legal director of Miracle of Innocence, which supported Carnes, said there was “copious” evidence of his innocence.
Iliff said he was delighted the court issued its order within six days instead of taking a month or more. “It’s an indication that there was a manifest injustice that needed to be rectified,” he said.
The non-profit will provide Carnes with a phone and other resources once he is released from prison, Iliff said.
In a statement, Chris Nuelle, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, which opposed Carnes’ release, said the office defended the conviction and that the decision to retry him “rests in the hands of” the Jackson County prosecutor.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it was reviewing the situation Tuesday afternoon. “And we await any other information the Missouri Supreme Court sends to us,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Carnes was convicted of armed criminal action and first-degree murder in the killing of 24-year-old Larry White, who was fatally shot Oct. 6, 2003, in a parking lot at 29th Street and Prospect Avenue in Kansas City.
He was sentenced to life in prison.
His lawyers contended that witnesses interviewed by police recanted their testimony and alleged they were intimidated by authorities.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a motion opposing Carnes’ release, arguing that he was trying to put a “different spin” on already presented evidence.
Kent Gipson, a lawyer who has represented Carnes for about seven years, called Tuesday a “good day” but said the road to obtaining Carnes’ freedom should have been easier.
The AG’s office in Missouri responds to post-conviction innocence claims, which Gipson said should change.
Under both Republicans and Democrats, the office has resisted nearly every wrongful conviction case to come before it in the last 20 years.
”The attorney general never concedes anything,” Gipson said. “And we need an avenue to file something in the court where the person was convicted and deal with the local prosecutor.”
RECANTING WITNESSES:
In Carnes’ case, two witnesses, Wendy Lockett and Lorraine Morrow, maintained for nearly a decade that Carnes chased White into the parking lot and shot him multiple times.
Lockett said she recognized Carnes because of his eye patch, which no other drug dealer she knew at the time had.
But in 2014, Lockett recanted her testimony, alleging that she had been coerced into identifying Carnes.
Morrow also recanted her testimony that year.
In a visit to then-Assistant Prosecutor Amy McGowan’s office, she recalled pointing to the picture of a man named Reginald Thomas, not Carnes, in a photo lineup.
But McGowan allegedly pressured her into identifying Carnes by saying other witnesses had pointed him out.
McGowan also prosecuted the case of Ricky Kidd, a Kansas City man who spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he did not commit.
Kidd was exonerated and freed in 2019.
Further complicating Carnes’ case, Lockett testified in a court hearing last year that her original testimony actually was accurate and she was harassed into recanting by Carnes’ supporters.
At the same hearing, Morrow said she was suffering from too many medical conditions to remember the night of the murder clearly.
Thomas also maintained then that he was with family on the night of the murder. Another witness, Kermit O’Neal, said he was a friend of Carnes’ in 2003.
He alleged that police intimidated him and attempted to “put words in his mouth” when recounting the night of the murder
. O’Neal said White had a heated exchange with another dealer about selling drugs on his property and warned him not to come back prior to the shooting.
The other dealer was not Carnes, according to O’Neal.
Carnes remained Tuesday at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking in south-central Missouri.
The entire story can bee read at:
https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article260136975.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;
