Sunday, November 17

They release a man who served 43 years in prison for a triple murder that he did not commit


Liberan a un hombre que cumplió 43 años de cárcel por un triple asesinato que él no cometió

Photo: RICHARD BOUHET / AFP / Getty Images

After passing 43 years behind bars for a crime he said he did not commit, the conviction of a man from Missouri has been overturned, According to a press release from the Jackson County Attorney, Jean Peters Baker .

Chief Judge James Welsh rendered his ruling on Tuesday morning to overturn the conviction of Kevin Strickland , from 62 years, who turned 50 years at the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri, after he was convicted of one count of capital murder and two counts of second-degree murder in a triple homicide. Strickland received a sentence of life imprisonment of 50 years without the possibility of parole for a crime in which he claimed he was not involved, according to CNN.

Strickland, from a wheelchair, spoke shortly after being released from jail Tuesday afternoon and said he is grateful to his attorneys and to everyone who listened to him over the years as he maintained his innocence .

All criminal charges against Strickland were dismissed. His release makes his confinement the longest wrongful imprisonment in Missouri’s history and one of the longest in the nation, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Still incredulous. I didn’t think this day would come. ”

Kevin Strickland

Strickland said he learned the news of his release through a breaking news report that interrupted the soap opera he was watching.

Missouri, unlike other states, does not offer compensation to those exonerated. Strickland, whose health has deteriorated and uses a wheelchair, has no resources. The Midwest Innocence Project has organized a fundraiser to help you:

Missouri, unlike other states, provides NO COMPENSATION for exonorees.

Strickland, whose health has declined and uses a wheelchair, has no resources.

The Midwest Innocence Project has set up a fundraiser: https://t.co/6MF4jiISMr

– Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 23, 2021

“ To say that we are extremely pleased and grateful is an understatement, ”said Peters Baker. “This brings justice, finally, to a man who has suffered so tragically, so much as a result of this wrongful conviction.”

Strickland testified during an evidentiary hearing of three days earlier this month, which involved eyewitness testimony given under oath, Strickland’s legal team presented evidence and arguments to exonerate him.

Four people were shot in Kansas City, Missouri, on 25 April 1978, resulting in three deaths, according to CNN affiliate KSHB. The sole survivor of the crime, Cynthia Douglas, who died in 2021, testified in 1978 that Strickland was at the scene of the triple murder.

Douglas survived the shooting after sustaining a shotgun wound and told police that Vincent Bell and Kiln Adkins were two of the perpetrators. But he didn’t identify Strickland, whom he knew, at the scene until a day later, according to KSHB, after it was suggested that Strickland’s hair matched Douglas’s description of the shooter. Douglas claimed his initial failure to identify him was due to the use of cognac and marijuana, according to KSHB.

But for the last 30 years said he made a mistake and falsely identified Strickland. According to KSHB, Douglas made efforts to free Strickland through the Midwest Innocence Project.

Strickland thanked the judge for reviewing all the “non-evidence” against him and appreciated that the judge took the time to listen and understand what really happened in 1978.

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