PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "He (son Cliff) is trying to get a meeting with Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson and her Conviction Integrity Unit in hopes of getting this overturned through the Missouri Revised Statute § 547.03. KCTV5 Investigates reached out to Johnson’s office for comment and is waiting to hear back. Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca attended the rally and said there are questions to be answered. “I’ll commit to having a conversation with her about this situation, seeing what opportunities exist, and I think that knowing her, she is gonna seek the justice that anyone is deserved,” said Abarca. Cliff said the best outcome would be exoneration for his father. They are filing this on Monday, which is Ken’s 81st Birthday."
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STORY: "Son makes efforts to free father in decades-old Jackson County murder conviction," by Reporter Samantha Boring, published by KCTV, one August 8, 2025. (Samantha Boring joined the KCTV5 news team in December 2023 as a weekend morning anchor/reporter.)
SUB-HEADING: "On Monday, Cliff Middleton, Ken’s son, said they plan to file a writ of habeas corpus in the Missouri Western Court of Appeals."
GIST: "Family and friends gathered in front of the Jackson County Courthouse, chanting “Free Ken Middleton,” on Friday afternoon. Middleton was convicted 34 years ago for the death of his wife, but swears he is innocent.
On Monday, Cliff Middleton, Ken’s son, said they plan to file a writ of habeas corpus in the Missouri Western Court of Appeals. They are asking for a new trial or to overturn his conviction and release him.
In 1990, Kathy Middleton was shot and killed inside her Blue Springs home; her husband, Ken Middleton, was convicted of her murder and still sits in prison.
He has said he didn’t kill her, insisting that she dropped the gun and it misfired.
Cliff said there is proof that shows police allegedly destroyed gun residue evidence. He said a judge overturned his conviction in 2005 because of this.
“The jury never saw that police destroyed gun shot residue, there was a two underneath here and a left underneath here, they never turned in their left hand and she fumbled with the gun and caused it to go off with her left hand and they destroyed it,” said Cliff Middleton.
He said the appeals court ruled the judge didn’t have jurisdiction after Jackson County prosecutors appealed the decision.
He is trying to get a meeting with Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson and her Conviction Integrity Unit in hopes of getting this overturned through the Missouri Revised Statute § 547.03.
KCTV5 Investigates reached out to Johnson’s office for comment and is waiting to hear back.
Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca attended the rally and said there are questions to be answered.
“I’ll commit to having a conversation with her about this situation, seeing what opportunities exist, and I think that knowing her, she is gonna seek the justice that anyone is deserved,” said Abarca.
Cliff said the best outcome would be exoneration for his father. They are filing this on Monday, which is Ken’s 81st Birthday."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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;
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