After 43 years behind bars for a crime he didn鈥檛 commit, Kevin Strickland was finally . But his hard-fought freedom came despite months of objections and delays from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.
Schmitt's handling of the case amounted to "prosecutorial malpractice," Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said on Wednesday.
鈥淚'm hot about that because it's a misunderstanding of the very basics 鈥� prosecutor 101,鈥� Baker told KCUR鈥檚 Up To Date.
Judge James Welsh exonerated and ordered Strickland, 62, released from the Western Missouri Correctional Center on Tuesday.
Strickland was 18 when a Jackson County Court convicted him in a triple murder case. He has always maintained his innocence.
In a statement released after the decision on Tuesday, a spokesman for Schmitt said, 鈥淚n this case, we defended the rule of law and the decision that a jury of Mr. Strickland's peers made after hearing all the facts in the case."
鈥淚t's such a profoundly idiotic statement," Baker said of Schmitt's response. "It's wrong, and when something's wrong, we should just call it out as that.鈥�
Schmitt鈥檚 office was successful in delaying Strickland鈥檚 innocence hearing at least twice. Those appeals also resulted in the recusal of all Jackson County Circuit judges from the case 鈥� the Missouri Supreme Court appointed the semi-retired Judge Welsh to the hearing in September.
Baker said her office and Schmitt鈥檚 both 鈥渉ave the same oath,鈥� suggesting Schmitt failed to uphold his obligation to seek out justice.
鈥淎nd that offends me, and it should offend everyone who listens to it, because it's just foolhardy and it's silly and it's wrong,鈥� Baker said of Schmitt's arguments.
In an email with KCUR, Schmitt鈥檚 spokesperson declined to respond to Baker鈥檚 accusations.
Even before Strickland鈥檚 innocence hearing began, the attorney general's office claimed it sought to create an adversarial environment where the truth could emerge through intense scrutiny.
That intervention was necessary, the logic went, because Baker has said since May she believed in Strickland鈥檚 innocence. Schmitt鈥檚 office went so far as to ask the judge to retitle Strickland鈥檚 case from State of Missouri v. Kevin Strickland to State of Missouri v. Jean Peters Baker, to reflect their claim that Baker鈥檚 office was not properly representing the state鈥檚 interest.
When state lawmakers Baker to challenge Strickland鈥檚 conviction in court, 鈥渢he General Assembly intended to provide a check to the prosecutor's extraordinary new power,鈥� Schmitt鈥檚 office wrote in a post-hearing brief. 鈥淭he Attorney General is that check and has been given discretionary authority to represent the state in proceedings.鈥�
The judge denied that request.
Schmitt's legal tactics have flummoxed Strickland and his family.
Carol Jones, Strickland鈥檚 cousin, told KCUR in September that the long, drawn out process put a burden on the entire family.
鈥淚 hold fast to my faith that God ain鈥檛 going to let me die in this jail, but I鈥檓 losing belief that the system is going to work,鈥� Strickland told CBS News last month.
鈥淚t is actually disingenuous to say that (the attorney general was) defending a valid jury verdict, because no verdict can be valid when the jury didn't get true real evidence,鈥� said Midwest Innocence Project director Tricia Rojo Bushnell, who helped represent Strickland in court.
鈥淎 prosecutor's 鈥� ethical duty, under all of the guidelines 鈥� and 鈥� is that prosecutors have a special duty, and that is to do justice, not to convict,鈥� Rojo Bushnell said.
Rojo Bushnell鈥檚 organization has worked with numerous exonerees in multiple states. She said it鈥檚 not unusual for prosecutors to cooperate with and aid inmates when the facts of the case warrant it.
鈥淎ll of our clients who've come home in Kansas have all been where the prosecutor agreed and joined the motion,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd they came home that day.鈥�
Strickland is the first inmate found innocent by the Jackson County prosecutor鈥檚 Conviction Review Unit, which works to prevent, identify and fix false convictions.
Strickland鈥檚 hearing also has the potential to set legal precedents in Missouri.
鈥淎nd man, did I learn a lot of things from the attorney generals and their relentlessness 鈥� truly their stubbornness,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淭hey taught me a few things that I sure would like to share with my other prosecutor colleagues around the state of Missouri, so they can be successful as well.鈥�
The ruling in Strickland鈥檚 favor came two weeks after the conclusion of oral arguments and witness testimony in Jackson County Circuit Court.
After his release, Strickland told reporters gathered outside the Cameron, Missouri, prison that he was an easy mark for law enforcement, who took advantage of his situation.
鈥淚 really appreciate (Judge Welsh) taking his time to listen and understand what really happened in 1978,鈥� Strickland said.
Copyright 2021
