Why are wrongly-convicted people still imprisoned in Missouri?
Prosecutors have called for the release of Kevin Strickland and Lamar Johnson, who have served a combined 70 years in prison for murders they did not commit. And yet, innocence has not earned them their freedom. So, what's going on in the state of Missouri?
Hasnain says:
The new prosecutor uncovered past prosecutorial misconduct (paying off a witness to lie) that sent an innocent man to jail for 40+ years.
The prosecutor moved to overturn the conviction. Other prosecutors tried to dismiss saying this person had used up all his appeals. The state court agreed that his innocence doesn’t matter and he must stay in jail.
I can’t even…
“Sean O'Brien, a law professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City, said, "I do know that the Attorney General's office, for a long time, has had a practice of opposing every case regardless of its merit. They think that their duty is to defend every judgment, no matter the justice of it."
"Even with new evidence that shows that the wrong person was convicted?" asked Moriarty.
"Even with new evidence," he replied.
Gardner appealed, but this past March, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against her, stating that, "This case is not about whether Johnson is innocent … This case presents only the issue of whether there is any authority to appeal … No such authority exists."”
Posted on 2021-07-30T05:07:27+0000