Kevin Strickland: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

'''Kevin Strickland''' (born June 7, 1959) is an African- American man who was wrongfully convicted by an [[all-white jury]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=Kevin Strickland was convicted by all-white jury. That was by design, his lawyers say |last=Nozicka |first=Luke |newspaper=The Kansas City Star |date=June 8, 2021 |url= https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article251274479.html }}</ref> in 1979 of killing three people in [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. No physical evidence linked him to the scene of the crime and the only alleged witness later recanted her [[testimony]] that Strickland was involved.<ref name=KCStar /><ref name=AP>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/mo-state-wire-michael-brown-06e726b7ef07be53ba7bdb6088282548 |title=Prosecutors: Missouri man wrongly convicted of triple murder |date=May 10, 2021 |website=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> Strickland was given a [[life sentence]].<ref name=KCUR>{{cite web |url=https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-06-02/missouri-supreme-court-will-not-consider-kevin-stricklands-innocence-case |title=Missouri Supreme Court Will Not Consider Kevin Strickland's Innocence Case |date=June 2, 2021 |last=Martin |first=Luke X. |website=[[KCUR-FM]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> In 2021, he garnered national attention after former prosecutors in his case said that he was innocent and called for his release.<ref name=KCStar>{{cite web |url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article245629815.html |title=40 years behind bars, man insists he is innocent, and so do others |date=September 25, 2020 |last1=Yang |first1=Shelly |last2=Wooldridge |first2=James |website=[[The Kansas City Star]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>

Two black men who pled guilty to the murders have said Strickland was not involved, and a fingerprint from the shotgun used in the murders belonged to someone else.<ref name=KCStar /><ref name=AP /> Cynthia Douglas, the sole eyewitness to the crime, said detectives pressured her into naming Strickland as a perpetrator. She attempted several times to recant her testimony before her death in 2015.<ref name=AP />

Numerous legal and political figures called for Strickland's exoneration. In June 2021, the [[Supreme Court of Missouri]] denied a petition to have him released.<ref name=KCUR /> The Governor of Missouri [[Mike Parson]] refused to pardon him, saying he did not see his case as a "priority" and was not certain of his innocence.<ref name=Priority>{{cite web |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/parson-indicates-kevin-strickland-pardon-won-t-be-a-priority/article_cab0f617-0b35-5513-8672-f3bf324c3be3.html |title=Parson indicates Kevin Strickland pardon won't be 'a priority' |date=June 9, 2021 |website=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/missouri-gov-mike-parson-on-kevin-strickland-i-dont-know-whether-hes-innocent-or-not |title=Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Kevin Strickland: 'I don't know whether he's innocent or not' |date=June 23, 2021 |last=Medina |first=Dave |website=[[KSHB-TV]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref><ref name=Irony>{{cite web |url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article253250778.html |title='Peak irony': Dems decry Parson's McCloskeys pardon as Kevin Strickland sits behind bars |date=August 4, 2021 |last1=Nozicka |first1=Luke |last2=Kuang |first2=Jeanne |website=[[The Kansas City Star]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> The ~~office of the~~ [[Missouri Attorney General]] fought in court to keep him in prison, saying ithe believed ~~him to~~he bewas guilty.<ref name=AG>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/michael-brown-b9748da3015f827cc009cc10cfb2478d |title=Missouri attorney general: Strickland is guilty of 3 murders |date=July 12, 2021 |website=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>

On November 23, 2021, Judge James Welsh overturned Strickland's conviction "since it was not based on physical evidence but on eye-witness testimony …, who later recanted her account", and Strickland was released on the same day. He was exonerated after more than 42 years in prison, "making his case the longest confirmed wrongful-conviction case in Missouri’s history".<ref name=CBS>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-strickland-exonerated-triple-murder-missouri/ |title=Kevin Strickland exonerated in triple murder case after more than 40 years in prison |date=November 23, 2021 |last=Jones |first=Zoe Christen |website=[[CBS News]] |access-date=November 25, 2021}}</ref><ref name=TWP>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/23/kevin-strickland-murder-exoneration/ |title=Kevin Strickland exonerated after 43 years in one of the longest wrongful-conviction cases in U.S. history |date=November 24, 2021 |last=Bella |first=Timothy |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=November 24, 2021}}</ref>