Was Blue Springs man wrongfully convicted? He deserves a new trial, former judge says
Ken Middleton was sent to prison for life 30 years ago. All along, the Blue Springs man has maintained he is innocent of the murder conviction that landed him in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Middleton did not kill his wife, Kathy, in 1990, evidence suggests. He has exhausted all legal appeals and will likely die behind bars if Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker doesn’t seek a new hearing.
Baker should have by this summer the tools to file the motion. The Missouri legislature recently approved a bill that allows local prosecutors to ask a judge to throw out convictions in cases of innocence. The measure awaits Gov. Mike Parson’s signature.
Edith Messina is a former judge in Jackson County. She retired in 2014 and is an adviser to Baker. Messina once ordered a new trial for Middleton due to ineffective counsel. The ruling was shot down by the Missouri Supreme Court on procedural grounds.
Messina has in recent years helped Baker’s office conduct post-conviction reviews. That connection should be enough for Baker to act. But prosecutors remain convinced that Middleton did kill Kathy Middleton, a spokesperson for Baker said.
Neither Baker nor Messina were available for comment this week, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“We have reviewed this case several times,” a spokesman for Baker wrote in an email. “But, as we have explained to his attorney, we always stand ready to review new and credible evidence, something that was not known at the time of trial.”
Therein lies the problem. Selective outrage weakens trust in the criminal justice system. How is it that a judge can rule an innocent man deserves a new trial, yet the prisoner remains locked up? It’s troubling that Baker will not consider the case when a trusted member of her staff has already determined that clear and convincing evidence shows that Middleton is likely innocent.
During the appeals process, Middleton’s defense attorney was deemed ineffective, according to court documents. A document containing analysis of gunpowder residue on Kathy Middleton’s left hand was altered. And Blue Springs police botched the investigation from the beginning, court records indicate.
Middleton did not receive a fair trial, and Messina agreed, ruling that if Middleton had a proper defense, he would have been acquitted, according to court documents.
Sixteen years later, Middleton, 76, is still in prison. With her newfound jurisdiction imminent, Middleton’s case should be at the top of Baker’s list.
New law could help free innocent Missourians
In Missouri, actual innocence isn’t enough to free a person wrongfully convicted of a crime. according to a state supreme court ruling. Senate Bill 53 addresses a legal loophole that has kept an untold number of innocent people behind bars.
The measure gives prosecutors the right to file a motion to vacate or set aside a judgment where the court finds that there is clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence or constitutional error at the original trial or plea.
The law goes into effect in late August, if signed by Parson. Baker has a legal and moral obligation to fight for Middleton’s freedom with the same vigor she has shown in the quest to free another innocent man from prison.
Baker came out swinging after the General Assembly approved the measure. She recently apologized to Kevin Strickland and his family and sought the Kansas City man’s freedom. A post-conviction review determined Strickland, 61, was wrongfully convicted. He has served 40 years for a triple murder he did not commit, a review of the case by the prosecutor’s office found.
Baker publicly called for immediate relief for Strickland but those attempts were hamstrung by the state’s archaic law that denies innocent people the right to freedom. The Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Baker will file the motion to free Strickland on the day the law goes into effect, she said.
In a letter to Strickland’s attorneys, Baker wrote: “The prosecutor’s dual roles are to vigorously and ethically prosecute those who violate the law, and to protect the innocent. To that end, prosecutors have a duty to seek the truth before, during, and after a conviction.”
Will those words haunt Baker in the Middleton case?
Middleton’s son, Cliff, wants to know if the Jackson County prosecutor will fight equally as hard for Ken Middleton. The question is a legitimate one that deserves a straightforward answer.
Ken Middleton once turned down a plea deal that would have set him free after several years in prison. He refused to admit to a crime he did not commit, his attorney Ken Gipson said.
“Ken has a very strong claim of innocence,” Gipson said. The judge (Messina) felt he was innocent.”
No gunpowder residue on Middleton’s hands
Middleton is serving a life sentence in prison for murdering his wife. But evidence and experts suggest Kathy Middleton accidentally shot herself in 1990.
There was no physical evidence that tied Middleton to the crime. No blood or gunpowder residue was found on Middleton’s clothes or hands, ballistics tests showed. Bureaucratic red tape has kept him in prison. Parson denied a request for clemency. Baker must reconsider the merits of the case.
“It’s very hard to convince a prosecutor that someone is innocent,” Gipson said. “It’s not in their DNA.”
Former Missouri Gov. Joseph Teasdale testified under oath that he has never witnessed such judicial malfeasance, according to court documents
“In my 41 years as a lawyer I had not witnessed such a violation of a defendant’s Constitutional rights,” Teasdale testified on behalf of Ken Middleton.
Federal prosecutors, Mayor Quinton Lucas and the presiding judge of the Jackson County Circuit Court all agreed that Strickland should be released. In the interest of fairness, the same outpouring of concern should be applied to Ken Middleton’s case.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
