Jean Peters Baker, Jackson County, Missouri prosecutor, talks with Rachel Maddow about the effort to free Kevin Strickland, who has been in prison for over 40 years as a result of a wrongful conviction, and who remains in jail weeks after his innocence was declared publicly by prosecutors.
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#MSNBC #WrongfulConviction #KevinStrickland
All that useless governor needs to do is to sign a piece of paper and that man will be free
If ever a case demonstration just how horribly flawed our system is justice is, and this one takes the cake. How often do you have prosecutor being an advocate for the criminal defendant? This system still wants it’s pound of flesh from this guy and even when it’s all a mistake – 43 years is still not enough.
*The governor is a white man, the wrongfully imprisoned dude is Black; does it get any clearer than this black and white contrast?*
@Wahyu Indrasto – The people who work the system for the state just want someone to occupy a cot (any color) and prosecutors are never wrong. Just look at K. Harris and the number of POC she’s locked up. In the case of this guy, his color put him in a bad place to be wrongfully convicted, but now that there’s fact which shows he’s not guilty I don’t think his color is causing him to remain in prison.
Daily Reminder: On January 6, 2021, Impeached former President Trump attacked America during a joint session of congress.
In a planned, fascist coup attempt.
Yep !and trump is a free man walking around like he is untouchable after all the wrong he has done ,and still plotting
Can the Commander In Chief be court-martialed?
@Auntie Pha 👏👏👏🎯
Democrats in DC should shame this mean🤶 Governor by making a symbolic national vote of condemnation for his betrayal of righteousness and justice, and his inhumanity toward an innocent man.
🤔 🙄 😎😟😳😐
A Pardon means he admits he was guilty, he doesn’t need nor want a pardon….
@Mikey Atkins No governor has the power to vacate a guilty verdict, only to pardon, which is why so many of this kind of case is handled by pardoning the person. Generally only a defense attorney will file to vacate a conviction, but it is very hard to convince a court to do so and the order to vacate usually involves an order to retry the case, which might mean a prosecutor is not allowed to make such a filing. It is curious that the state supreme court has refused to hear this. Are there no lower appellate courts in the state? Did those lower courts refuse to look at the case or find the prosecutor’s evidence to be lacking? There are serious questions here that Maddow simply has not addressed.
There are two issues here with the governor. He could sign that legislation on his desk making it possible for the lower courts to make a ruling based solely on a filing by the prosecutor requesting the verdict be vacated or he could pardon the man. Saying the case is not a priority tells me two things, First there will be no pardon and no pardon investigation. Second the legislation is going to just sit on his desk and end in a pocket veto. Since he won’t sign a veto the legislature will not get an opportunity to override his veto. The man really is a piece of work.
It should be expunged
Why cant they just give him what he rightly deserves
Under Missouri law, being proven innocent after conviction isn’t a valid reason to vacate the conviction and release a person from prison. There was a State Supreme Court ruling on this recently. That’s why a Pardon is needed. It’s the ONLY way to get this guy out of prison.
Yes, but Jesus! They need to let him go, give him some token restitution, and pray for forgiveness.
My respect for the prosecutor even after all the prosecutorial abuses.
Deeply disturbing that the Governor is being a moron about this. No doubt it’s because the falsely accused man is black and that spending 40 years behind bars is a grotesque violation!!
@Linda Lauer I have no connection to any ‘Williamses’ in Indiana nor do I have any links to Northern Ohio. I’m just an independant observer who is appalled by a Govenor who thinks that man who has been unjustly imprisoned for over 40 years doesn’t merit being given any priority to the consideration of his case, especially as the same Govenor is also tardy in signing Bills that have passed both houses into law. Basically he is clearly an incompetant buffon who is not a fit person to be holding the office of Govenor.
@Linda Lauer The current District Attorney didn’t wait 43 years, she is acting on the current situation where to only witness has recanted, there are serious questions about how the original investigation was conducted, the porsecution was also questionable and the two men who where also convicted insist Strickland wasn’t involved. With the entire case unsubstanciated the conviction is clearly unsound. Unlike you I make my judgement based on the information that is presented. Oh by the way, the burden of proof is on the persecution to prove guilt which they say doesnt exist, I don’t need to prove anything since I’m just asserting the prosecution position that Strickland is innocent.
@Trevor McKenna-Williams In slave days black people took their owners last name. Will this man owe them who hot him out ?
@Trevor McKenna-Williams I do not question at all foul play in the original prosection. I question her now and the reasons why now. Yes, she freaked after the original mistake of helping prosecute him. That still does not change the current reasoning & threat of why now.
@Trevor McKenna-Williams By the way, yes, I go by what is written, stated, presented to me & very much further knowledge then you can even imagine.
40 years wrongly locked in a cage like an animal….Imagine??
**we can’t….!!!!**
They only see us as pittbull animals…a threat. They treat all other animals better than us.
we are grotesque…..i am ashamed……just release him now.
Republicans won’t let him go ( he’s black ). Figures…
If the governor would just take one moment just one moment and picture this man is being white I’m pretty sure he will use that key and unlock that cell door !!!
I’m so glad as a black man I don’t live in that unjust country,being black is not a crime,when the police and the law makes realise that the better 🤬🤬
So why did black men voted for them?
@wig cap VERY SMALL number of black people vote for Repugnantcons… for obvious reasons
@C Cole If you say very small numbers of black people voted for Republicans. Does small numbers did give them at least three senators? Do the maths.
It shouldn’t be referred to as a pardon. Pardon presupposes guilt.
Correct. A vacated sentence is not the same as a pardon. A vacated sentence would make it as if the case never happened.
Yes, it should be called an exoneration.
@Roberto Thayer excellent! Good to know, thank you.
Shameful. He should not serve one more hour. What Country is he incarcerated in, Russia?
Basically.
So this man spent 43years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and the state knows this but still can’t set him free and they want to set free what a way to mess up someone life.🤔
If you committed crimes but are rich and/or powerful, you probably get away with it. If you were falsely convicted, you stay locked up. At least if you are black and/or poor.
Republicans are disgusting. 43 years in prison for something he did not do. What if it were their family member. 43 years! While the actual murders only served 10 years.
If they had the actual murders what was he still doing in jail?!! 😲 😥
Their skin colors may have something to do with it.
He didn’t do anything wrong !!! So he doesn’t need a pardon, Release him immediately!! Stay strong Brother
A condition of accepting a pardon is admission of guilt.
Governor should be charged for continuing to keep this man in jail.
This is absolutely disgusting. It is heartbreaking that this man’s life was stripped from him due to a false prosecution. The Governor of Missouri is a POS. He needs to be charged with unlawful imprisonment.
The people of this state need to put pressure on this governor.
He doesnt need a pardon because he is innocent, so why isnt his record just cleaned.
Whats wrong with the Governor, he needs to be impeached.
Good grief, his life is lost. Why did it take 43 years, this is so wrong.
By keeping him in jail the “Justice System” is sending a clear message to other black people. It is not the job of the justice system to dispense justice but to maintain a certain social order. Strickland is just collateral damage in the effort to keep black people in their place. It is irrelevant to this purpose that Strickland is innocent. This has nothing to do with it.
The Governor should be recalled, this is a grotesque case of injustice. 40 years for a crime he never committed!!! 🤬