Missouri judges have overturned 2 murder convictions in recent weeks. Why did the AG fight freedom?
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Missouri judges have overturned 2 murder convictions in recent weeks. Why did the AG fight freedom?

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — A man who was on the verge of walking out of prison this week after a judge found evidence of “actual innocence” and overturned his murder conviction now faces a fresh legal hurdle. The person blocking Christopher Dunn’s freedom is Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is fresh off an unsuccessful battle to keep another woman whose murder conviction was reversed imprisoned. Dunn was signing papers, preparing to walk out the door, when the Missouri Supreme Court agreed to consider Bailey’s objections and halted his release, a corrections department spokesperson said. “Throughout the appeals process, multiple courts have affirmed Christopher Dunn’s murder conviction,” the statement said. But Hickle declined to order Dunn’s release, citing a 2016 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that only people on death row could make a “freestanding” claim of actual innocence.

Murder Court Conviction Innocence Judge Missouri Attorney Release Williams Bailey Louis Dunn Missouri Supreme Court Hemme Christopher Dunn Puro  judges  missouri  freedom  fight  court  conviction  recent  ag  baileys  convictions  attorney  judge  bailey  release  weeks  murder  overturned  innocence

History of this topic

Appealing Court Upholds Freedom for Woman Whose Conviction Was Overturned After 43 Years Behind Bars
2 months ago

Appealing Court Upholds Freedom for Woman Whose Conviction Was Overturned After 43 Years Behind Bars

Associated Press  

An appellate court has upheld the freedom of a woman who spent 43 years behind bars for a killing that her attorneys argue was committed by a discredited police officer. The court ruled that some arguments raised by Bailey's office bordered on the absurd and gave prosecutors 10 days to refile charges.

Missouri executes man for 1998 murder of woman despite calls from victim's family to spare his life
2 months, 4 weeks ago

Missouri executes man for 1998 murder of woman despite calls from victim's family to spare his life

New Indian Express  

"No juror nor judge has ever found Williams' innocence claim to be credible," Parson said in a statement. "Tonight, Missouri lynched another innocent Black man," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. Parson and the state Supreme Court rejected his appeals in quick succession Monday, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene hours before he was put to …

Missouri Executes A Man For The 1998 Killing Of A Woman Despite Her Family’s Calls To Spare His Life
2 months, 4 weeks ago

Missouri Executes A Man For The 1998 Killing Of A Woman Despite Her Family’s Calls To Spare His Life

Huff Post  

FILE - This photo provided by the Missouri Department of Corrections shows Marcellus Williams. Last month, Gayle’s relatives gave their blessings to an agreement between the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office and Williams’ attorneys to commute the sentence to life in prison. Questions about DNA evidence also led St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to request a hearing challenging …

Missouri executes a man for the 1998 killing of a woman despite her family’s calls to spare his life
2 months, 4 weeks ago

Missouri executes a man for the 1998 killing of a woman despite her family’s calls to spare his life

Associated Press  

— A Missouri man convicted of breaking into a woman’s home and repeatedly stabbing her was executed Tuesday over the objections of the victim’s family and the prosecutor, who wanted the death sentence commuted to life in prison. Last month, Gayle’s relatives gave their blessings to an agreement between the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office and Williams’ attorneys to …

Missouri Supreme Court and governor refuse to halt the execution of man convicted of 1998 killing
3 months ago

Missouri Supreme Court and governor refuse to halt the execution of man convicted of 1998 killing

Associated Press  

— A Missouri man seeking to avoid execution suffered dual setbacks Monday as the state’s top court and governor each rejected requests to cancel his scheduled lethal injection. The state Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, affirmed a lower court ruling rejecting Williams’ arguments. Parson said Williams received extensive legal opportunities to try to argue his innocence and accused Williams’ …

Missouri judge rejects innocence claim of Marcellus Williams who faces execution
3 months, 1 week ago

Missouri judge rejects innocence claim of Marcellus Williams who faces execution

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — A judge declined Thursday to vacate the conviction and death sentence of Marcellus Williams, a Missouri man scheduled for execution later this month in the stabbing death of a woman in 1998, despite questions about DNA evidence on the knife used in the attack. St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton presided over an evidentiary hearing last …

Missouri Supreme Court blocks agreement that would have halted execution
4 months ago

Missouri Supreme Court blocks agreement that would have halted execution

Associated Press  

— The Missouri Supreme Court blocked an agreement that would spare the life of a man on death row. The ruling late Wednesday came hours after St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton approved a plan allowing Williams to enter a new no-contest plea to first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gayle. Robin Maher, executive director of the …

One GOP Attorney General Is Obsessed With Keeping Innocent People Behind Bars. He Just Won His Primary.
4 months, 2 weeks ago

One GOP Attorney General Is Obsessed With Keeping Innocent People Behind Bars. He Just Won His Primary.

Slate  

All across this country, prisoners who have been falsely convicted dream about being exonerated. As the Washington Post reported, “Within hours of that court’s ruling, appealed to the state’s top court to keep Dunn in prison.” Bailey claimed that he wanted to ensure the jury’s verdict was “respected.” At first, Bailey got his way, and the state Supreme Court halted …

Missouri man is free from prison after a judge overturned his 1991 conviction, despite AG’s efforts
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Missouri man is free from prison after a judge overturned his 1991 conviction, despite AG’s efforts

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri man was freed from prison Tuesday after his murder conviction was overturned after 34 years behind bars, despite the state attorney general’s efforts to keep him there. It was torture.” Dunn’s release marks the second time in recent weeks that a person was freed from prison despite Bailey’s appeals to keep them in custody after …

A man’s murder conviction was overturned after 33 years. The prison refused to release him
4 months, 4 weeks ago

A man’s murder conviction was overturned after 33 years. The prison refused to release him

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Dunn wasn't released after his conviction was overturned …

Missouri Supreme Court halts release of Christopher Dunn after conviction was overturned
4 months, 4 weeks ago

Missouri Supreme Court halts release of Christopher Dunn after conviction was overturned

Raw Story  

The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked the release of Christopher Dunn, days after a St. Louis judge ruled he has been wrongfully incarcerated for 33 years. On Monday, St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled Dunn was wrongfully convicted of murder and assault in 1991 and should be immediately released, finding that “in light of the new evidence, no …

Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man with overturned conviction as he was about to go free
4 months, 4 weeks ago

Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man with overturned conviction as he was about to go free

Associated Press  

— The Missouri Supreme Court halted the immediate release Wednesday of a man whose murder conviction was overturned — just as the man was about to walk free. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge had ordered Christopher Dunn, now 52, to be released by 6 p.m. CDT Wednesday and threatened the prison warden with contempt if Dunn remained imprisoned. St. …

Missouri woman who served 43 years in prison is free after her murder conviction was overturned
5 months ago

Missouri woman who served 43 years in prison is free after her murder conviction was overturned

Associated Press  

— A woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years of a life sentence was released Friday, despite attempts in the last month by Missouri’s attorney general to keep her behind bars. The judge originally ruled on June 14 that Hemme’s attorneys had established “clear and convincing evidence” of “actual innocence” and he overturned her conviction. “It …

Missouri woman who served 43 years in prison is free after murder conviction was overturned
5 months ago

Missouri woman who served 43 years in prison is free after murder conviction was overturned

LA Times  

Sandra Hemme, center, meets with family and other supporters after she was released from prison Friday in Chillicothe, Mo. “I get that a lot.” The judge originally ruled on June 14 that Hemme’s attorneys had established “clear and convincing evidence” of “actual innocence” and overturned the conviction. “It shouldn’t be this hard to free an innocent person.” During a court …

Missouri woman’s murder conviction tossed after 43 years. Her lawyers say a police officer did it
6 months, 1 week ago

Missouri woman’s murder conviction tossed after 43 years. Her lawyers say a police officer did it

Associated Press  

A judge has overturned the conviction of a Missouri woman who was a psychiatric patient when she incriminated herself in a 1980 killing that her attorneys argue was actually committed by a now-discredited police officer. They alleged in a petition seeking her exoneration that authorities ignored Hemme’s “wildly contradictory” statements and suppressed evidence implicating Michael Holman, a then-police officer who …

Missouri Supreme Court declines to halt execution of a man who killed 2 in 2006
9 months ago

Missouri Supreme Court declines to halt execution of a man who killed 2 in 2006

Associated Press  

The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to halt the execution of Brian Dorsey, who is scheduled to die next month for killing his cousin and her husband 18 years ago. Powell also wrote that the state Supreme Court previously turned aside Dorsey’s claim that his trial lawyer was ineffective, and he is barred from raising that claim again. “The …

Missouri prosecutor seeks to vacate murder conviction, the 2nd case challenged in 2 weeks
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Missouri prosecutor seeks to vacate murder conviction, the 2nd case challenged in 2 weeks

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri prosecutor on Wednesday filed a motion to vacate the conviction of a man imprisoned for more than three decades for the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy, the second time in two weeks that a St. Louis-area prosecutor has challenged a longstanding murder conviction. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in a news release …

Federal appeals court halts Missouri execution, leading state to appeal
1 year, 4 months ago

Federal appeals court halts Missouri execution, leading state to appeal

Associated Press  

A federal appeals court panel has halted next month’s planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man convicted of killing a 6-year-old girl, though the state is appealing the ruling. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday voted 2-1 to stop the execution of Johnny Johnson, who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne …

Missouri woman imprisoned for 42 years to get court hearing that could lead to release
1 year, 6 months ago

Missouri woman imprisoned for 42 years to get court hearing that could lead to release

Associated Press  

— A Missouri woman who has spent more than four decades in prison for a murder her supporters believe she did not commit will get a court hearing that could lead to her release. The Missouri attorney general’s office has agreed to an evidentiary hearing for Sandra Hemme, 63, who was convicted of murder in the Nov. 12, 1980, killing …

St. Louis prosecutor seeks to free man imprisoned 33 years for murder, citing evidence of innocence
1 year, 7 months ago

St. Louis prosecutor seeks to free man imprisoned 33 years for murder, citing evidence of innocence

Associated Press  

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis’ top prosecutor has asked a court to set aside the conviction of a man who has spent 33 years in prison for a killing he says he didn’t commit, after witnesses who testified against him later said authorities had pressured them to lie. In her request to overturn Christopher Dunn’s first-degree murder conviction, St. Louis …

Judge denies Missouri prosecutor request to halt execution
2 years, 1 month ago

Judge denies Missouri prosecutor request to halt execution

Associated Press  

— A Missouri man who killed a police officer still faces execution later this month after a judge denied a special prosecutor’s request to halt the death sentence. McEntee and the law enforcement community.” Keenan’s court filing said former St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s office handled five cases involving the deaths of police officers during his 28 years in …

Court rejects Missouri AG’s requests in 1979 killings case
3 years, 2 months ago

Court rejects Missouri AG’s requests in 1979 killings case

Associated Press  

— A Missouri appeals court on Thursday denied the state attorney general’s request to recuse all Jackson County judges from presiding over an upcoming evidentiary hearing for a man who the county prosecutor says was wrongfully convicted in a triple murder more than 40 years ago. The Missouri Court of Appeals also denied Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s request to cancel …

Missouri court denies case of man prosecutor deems innocent
3 years, 6 months ago

Missouri court denies case of man prosecutor deems innocent

Associated Press  

— A Missouri prosecutor on Wednesday said she’s disappointed the state Supreme Court won’t hear the case of a Kansas City man imprisoned for more than 40 years for a triple murder that prosecutors say he didn’t commit. Missouri Supreme Court judges on Tuesday denied 61-year-old Kevin Strickland’s case without providing an explanation. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker in …

Missouri Supreme Court: No new trial for Lamar Johnson
3 years, 9 months ago

Missouri Supreme Court: No new trial for Lamar Johnson

Associated Press  

— The effort to free Lamar Johnson, who has spent 26 years behind bars for a murder he says he didn’t commit, hit another roadblock Tuesday when the Missouri Supreme Court refused to grant a new trial. Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office argued successfully that Gardner lacked authority to seek a new trial so many years after the …

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