‘Long time coming’: Keith Carnes welcomed by family, supporters in KC after prison release
Shortly after exiting a black SUV that carried him back to Kansas City for the first time since his release from Missouri prison, Keith Carnes stepped onto a Brookside sidewalk and embraced his mother.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’m glad,” said Carnes, 52, released Monday after spending 18 years in prison for a murder that he contends he did not commit.
“I feel happy, I feel grateful, I feel blessed. And I just want to thank God.”
Eve Moffatt, his mother, recalled all the years she was unable to hug and kiss her son while he was imprisoned.
“I’m so glad he’s out,” Moffatt said, with a beaming smile.
The scene late Monday afternoon was a welcome home of Carnes by his family, supporters and attorneys. It was a joyous occasion for those who’ve spent years seeking his release from prison, celebrated with champagne and — at the request of Carnes — a delivery from Imo’s Pizza.
Carnes’ reintroduction to society comes as the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office declined to refile murder and armed criminal action charges against him, saying — though prosecutors are unconvinced of his actual innocence — there was insufficient evidence to bring the case to trial again. The decision came days after the Missouri Supreme Court tossed Carnes’ conviction.
Speaking to reporters outside his attorneys’ office, Carnes thanked those who stood behind his release. He said he plans to begin his life outside prison by reestablishing connections with family members with whom he has had little or no contact outside the supervision of a Missouri prison since his incarceration.
Carnes said he believes the evidence of the case clearly shows that he was not guilty of the crime, though he said he plans to work toward clearing his name further until he is “fully exonerated.”
“I think that’ll be easier now that I’m free,” Carnes said.
Carnes and his supporters have long maintained that he is innocent in the Oct. 6, 2003 killing, which unfolded in a parking lot at 29th Street and Prospect Avenue. Carnes was accused of fatally shooting 24-year-old Larry A. White in a turf dispute over drug-dealing territory.
Two witnesses in the case, Wendy Lockett and Lorraine Morrow, maintained for nearly a decade that Carnes chased White into the parking lot and shot him multiple times.
Lockett said she recognized Carnes because of his eye patch, which no other drug dealer she knew at the time had.
But in 2014, Lockett recanted her testimony, alleging that she had been coerced into identifying Carnes. Morrow also recanted her testimony and recalled being pressured by then-Assistant Prosecutor Amy McGowan into picking Carnes.
McGowan also prosecuted the case of Ricky Kidd, a Kansas City man who spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he did not commit. Kidd was exonerated and freed in 2019.
Further complicating Carnes’ case, Lockett testified in a 2021 court hearing that her original testimony actually was accurate and she was harassed into recanting by Carnes’ supporters.
At the same hearing, Morrow said she was suffering from too many medical conditions to remember the night of the murder clearly.
Another witness, Kermit O’Neal, said he was a friend of Carnes’ in 2003. He alleged that police intimidated him and attempted to “put words in his mouth” when recounting the night of the murder.
O’Neal said White had a heated exchange with another drug dealer about selling drugs on his property and warned him not to come back prior to the shooting. The other dealer was not Carnes, according to O’Neal.
Earlier this month, the Missouri Supreme Court determined an eyewitness’ account was not disclosed to Carnes’ defense team, in what is known as a Brady violation. The court threw out Carnes’ convictions and directed prosecutors to decide whether to retry him.
Prosecutors said they would not retry Carnes afterward, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt in a courtroom.
In a statement Friday, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said it accepted the high court’s findings that Carnes’ rights were violated. But the office noted that a special master’s investigation found no prosecutorial misconduct in Carnes’ case.
Prosecutors also blasted a private investigator who reviewed Carnes’ case, saying she was romantically involved with Carnes and pressured witnesses to recant their testimony.
“If police investigators engaged in such improper conduct, it would require immediate disclosure and conflict procedures to protect the integrity of the investigation,” the prosecutor’s office said. “This rule does not apply just to police and credible organizations, like the Midwest Innocence Project, which would not allow such bias as part of an investigation.”
Prosecutors said the evidence in the case is now “tainted from all directions.” Prosecutors added that the White family still believes Carnes was involved in the killing.
Prosecutors dismissed the charges without prejudice, noting that murder has no statute of limitations. They urged Carnes, who they say was present on the night of the homicide, to speak with law enforcement.
Addressing prosecutors’ continued investigation of White’s killing, Carnes said he believes the prosecutor’s office has sought to “twist things around in a negative way” since his conviction was overturned. As the investigation of White’s killing resumes, Carnes added that he hopes law enforcement will “do their job properly.”
On Monday, Carnes shook hands and hugged several people who helped work on the case over the years. Many representatives and volunteers were there from the Miracle of Innocence, an organization co-founded by exonerees Lamonte McIntyre and Darryl Burton that aims to undo wrongful convictions and assist innocent people with rejoining society. The organization assisted Carnes in his case.
“We do this work because we know there’s other innocent people in prison,” said Burton, who spent 24 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. “The journey coming home was one part of the journey, but this is the second part. It’s gonna be tough.”
Kent Gipson, Carnes’ attorney for the past eight years, said the time spent on Carnes’ case represented deeper issues with the criminal justice system in Missouri. Eight years is “way too long to get someone out,” Gipson said, contending that Missouri’s laws are “probably the worst in the country” when it comes to exoneration.
“I just hope I live long enough to do this again sometime,” he said. “Hopefully not in another eight years.”
The Star’s Aaron Torres and Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 8:07 PM with the headline "‘Long time coming’: Keith Carnes welcomed by family, supporters in KC after prison release."
