‘Law and order’ Missouri GOP wants to free killer cop, not innocent man on death row | Opinion
I would like to take this moment to highlight and call out the hypocrisy shown by some of Missouri’s highest-ranking GOP officials, especially Gov. Mike Parson, a former Polk County sheriff.
The GOP once stood for justice, law and order. These days, Republicans around this state seemingly pick and choose when to follow the letter of the law.
How else to explain Parson’s push for the execution of Marcellus Williams, who prosecutors in St. Louis County believe is innocent of the murder he was convicted for? Parson’s incessant rush to put Williams to death lacks basic humanity, not to mention any apparent interest in making sure actual justice is served.
Despite a pending court hearing to examine DNA evidence that could exonerate Williams in the 1998 murder of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle, neither Parson nor the Missouri Supreme Court seem concerned that Williams’ guilt is in doubt. He’s spent the past 24 years in prison.
No physical evidence ties Williams to the crime, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell argued in legal filings to set aside Williams’ conviction. A hearing to examine newly discovered evidence that could absolve Williams of this horrible crime has not yet been scheduled.
Post-trial DNA testing conducted on the murder weapon did not match Williams, according to Bell. Nor did hair fibers or shoe prints found near the crime scene, Bell argued.
Only the questionable testimony of two unreliable witnesses who were motivated by cash rewards linked Williams to the crime, Bell said.
None of us should ignore this blatant miscarriage of justice. Incentivized witness testimony has contributed to 14% of death penalty cases that later led to a DNA exoneration, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Perhaps Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel put it best in a direct message he sent to me on Facebook.
“When the innocent are not safe, the system is in danger,” Chapel wrote
Now contrast this callous disregard for Williams’ claims of innocence to a case closer to home.
Parson is contemplating a pardon for former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere, a convicted killer. In March, Parson’s office told reporters he was undecided about DeValkenaere’s clemency request.
If I was a betting man, the odds seem to be in favor of Parson commuting DeValkenaere’s six-year prison sentence for the 2019 shooting death of Cameron Lamb of Kansas City. Otherwise, it seems to me the governor would have already come out and refuted the notion that he would free the former lawman.
Keep in mind, this was the same governor who was not convinced of innocence claims brought forth on behalf of Kansas City’s Kevin Strickland, who wrongly spent four decades behind bars for a 1978 triple murder he did not commit.
At the urging of Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, a judge overturned Strickland’s conviction and he was freed after 42 years in prison.
Candidates for governor would pardon ex-KCPD officer
Even public officials running to replace Parson as governor are clamoring for a pardon for DeValkenaere that Parson himself has yet to rule out.
In a recent statement, state Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican in the race for governor, said if he’s elected, he’d pardon DeValkenaere, the first white Kansas City Police Department officer ever convicted of killing a Black man.
“Today I make this promise — in my first week as governor, I will pardon Eric DeValkenaere,” Eigel said.
Two other Republican candidates for governor — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe — have also said they’d be willing to entertain a pardon for DeValkenaere, The Star reported June 3.
Mind you, the former police detective’s conviction for second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for killing Lamb was affirmed by a three-judge panel for the Missouri Court of Appeals for Western Missouri.
The same Missouri Supreme Court that set Williams’ execution for Sept. 24 has denied a request to review DeValkenaere’s conviction.
In Williams’ case, Parson has the power to stay this unjust scheduled execution.
Although Williams was convicted of the first-degree murder, robbery and burglary in Gayle’s death, his case is a clear example of why The Star’s Editorial Board philosophically opposes the death penalty.
Since 1991, 75 people have been exonerated in Missouri, including six men with death sentences, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Let that sink in.
Last I heard, the GOP was supposed to be the party of justice, law and order. If you laughed out loud at that last sentence, or shook your head in disbelief, I can’t say I’d blame you.
This story was originally published June 9, 2024 at 5:07 AM.
