Conviction
of inmate prosecuted by Hulshof overturned after 17 years - Columbia
Missourian
wow i wonder if this is why the Rep party didn't fight too hard - maybe
they knew this was coming and would smear what appeared to be nice guy
hulshof???
boy if he is dirty ... that is scary .. he was known as a nice
guy tho his wiki bio reads like a very maneuvering pol - that was not the word
from tthose that knew him in Columbia ... seems he was squite the
player and not about framing people for murder to make his name
this is why i think they should ban PA and DA's and Att Generals from
running for elected office - prosecuting offices should not be stepping stones
to higher office but stations for those who pursue justice and truth not
headlines ...crg
"....Kezer wants to use his public platform to advocate for other inmates he
says are innocent. One convict he singled out is Ryan Ferguson, who was found
guilty of second-degree murder for the 2001 death of Columbia Daily Tribune
sports editor Kent Heitholt.
"There are untold other (innocent) people in prison," Kezer told reporters.
"They don't have what I had. They don't have million-dollar attorneys. They
don't have friends that are relentless."
Among those greeting Kezer in the prison lobby was Scott County Sheriff Rick
Walter, who as a reserve deputy in 1992, discovered Lawless' body in her idling
car along an Interstate 55 exit ramp in southeast Missouri.
Walter said he was plagued with doubts about the case for years. After being
elected Scott County sheriff in 2004, he assigned a team of investigators to
re-examine the case. The renewed scrutiny turned up several key pieces of
evidence that contributed to Kezer's release.
In addition to the prosecutorial misconduct by Hulshof, the Cole County judge
also ruled that Kezer met the legal burden of "demonstrating actual innocence by
clear and convincing evidence. ... Confidence in his conviction and sentence are
so undermined that they cannot stand and must be set aside."
Walter said he "wanted to see (Kezer) walk out these doors."
Joan Kezer blamed her son's conviction on "small-town justice and pompous
political pride." There was no physical evidence or eyewitnesses connecting
Kezer to the crime. His alibi at trial was that he was 350 miles away in
Kankakee, Ill., on the night of the murder.
The state's prosecution was based almost entirely on the testimony of another
suspect in Lawless' death who came forward months later and said he saw Kezer at
a nearby convenience store the night of the killing. But Mark Abbott — who is
serving a 20-year drug sentence in federal prison — had offered conflicting
testimony in earlier police interviews as well as subsequent statements.
Three Cape Girardeau County jail inmates also claimed that Kezer had
confessed to killing Lawless. They later acknowledged lying in hopes of getting
reduced sentence on their own pending charges, but Hulshof persuaded the trial
judge to keep that reversal out of court. He argued that Kezer's defense
attorney coerced the statements by threatening the inmates.
"Hulshof has to live with his own actions, and take responsibility for his
own deeds," Kezer said. "His refusal to take any accountability is a
shame....."
Peace, Hugs, and Purrs,
Carolyn Rose Goyda
of inmate prosecuted by Hulshof overturned after 17 years - Columbia
Missourian
wow i wonder if this is why the Rep party didn't fight too hard - maybe
they knew this was coming and would smear what appeared to be nice guy
hulshof???
boy if he is dirty ... that is scary .. he was known as a nice
guy tho his wiki bio reads like a very maneuvering pol - that was not the word
from tthose that knew him in Columbia ... seems he was squite the
player and not about framing people for murder to make his name
this is why i think they should ban PA and DA's and Att Generals from
running for elected office - prosecuting offices should not be stepping stones
to higher office but stations for those who pursue justice and truth not
headlines ...crg
"....Kezer wants to use his public platform to advocate for other inmates he
says are innocent. One convict he singled out is Ryan Ferguson, who was found
guilty of second-degree murder for the 2001 death of Columbia Daily Tribune
sports editor Kent Heitholt.
"There are untold other (innocent) people in prison," Kezer told reporters.
"They don't have what I had. They don't have million-dollar attorneys. They
don't have friends that are relentless."
Among those greeting Kezer in the prison lobby was Scott County Sheriff Rick
Walter, who as a reserve deputy in 1992, discovered Lawless' body in her idling
car along an Interstate 55 exit ramp in southeast Missouri.
Walter said he was plagued with doubts about the case for years. After being
elected Scott County sheriff in 2004, he assigned a team of investigators to
re-examine the case. The renewed scrutiny turned up several key pieces of
evidence that contributed to Kezer's release.
In addition to the prosecutorial misconduct by Hulshof, the Cole County judge
also ruled that Kezer met the legal burden of "demonstrating actual innocence by
clear and convincing evidence. ... Confidence in his conviction and sentence are
so undermined that they cannot stand and must be set aside."
Walter said he "wanted to see (Kezer) walk out these doors."
Joan Kezer blamed her son's conviction on "small-town justice and pompous
political pride." There was no physical evidence or eyewitnesses connecting
Kezer to the crime. His alibi at trial was that he was 350 miles away in
Kankakee, Ill., on the night of the murder.
The state's prosecution was based almost entirely on the testimony of another
suspect in Lawless' death who came forward months later and said he saw Kezer at
a nearby convenience store the night of the killing. But Mark Abbott — who is
serving a 20-year drug sentence in federal prison — had offered conflicting
testimony in earlier police interviews as well as subsequent statements.
Three Cape Girardeau County jail inmates also claimed that Kezer had
confessed to killing Lawless. They later acknowledged lying in hopes of getting
reduced sentence on their own pending charges, but Hulshof persuaded the trial
judge to keep that reversal out of court. He argued that Kezer's defense
attorney coerced the statements by threatening the inmates.
"Hulshof has to live with his own actions, and take responsibility for his
own deeds," Kezer said. "His refusal to take any accountability is a
shame....."
Peace, Hugs, and Purrs,
Carolyn Rose Goyda
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