{"id":20492,"date":"2021-11-28T12:46:57","date_gmt":"2021-11-28T17:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=20492"},"modified":"2021-11-28T12:46:57","modified_gmt":"2021-11-28T17:46:57","slug":"kevin-strickland-fundraiser-for-exonerated-missouri-man-tops-1-5m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/11\/28\/kevin-strickland-fundraiser-for-exonerated-missouri-man-tops-1-5m\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Strickland: Fundraiser for exonerated Missouri man tops $1.5m"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">A fundraiser set up to help a Missouri man who served more than 42 years in jail for a triple murder he did not commit has reached $1.5m (\u00a31.1m).<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Kevin Strickland was freed on Tuesday at the age of 62. He had maintained his innocence since his arrest at 18.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">It was the longest wrongful incarceration in state history, but under Missouri law he is not entitled to receive any financial compensation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">So his lawyers launched a GoFundMe page to help with his living expenses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">As of Sunday 16:00 GMT, it had reached $1,511,440.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Lawyers for the Midwest Innocence Project, who worked for months to help free Mr Strickland, praised the more than 27,000 strangers who had donated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The state of Missouri only compensates prisoners exonerated through DNA evidence, not because of eyewitness testimony, his lawyers said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;Until the system has changed where the system is failing, the community is stepping in to fix it, to fill the void,&#8221; said Tricia Rojo Bushnell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-50557396\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Falsely convicted US trio freed after 36 years<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-59270426\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US man wrongfully imprisoned for 26 years pardoned<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">A judge on Tuesday ordered Mr Strickland&#8217;s immediate release from state custody, after 15,487 days behind bars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years after he was linked to the deadly ransacking of a home in Kansas City on 25 April 1978.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">On that night, four assailants shot three people inside the home: Sherrie Black, 22, Larry Ingram, 22, and John Walker, 20.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">A fourth victim &#8211; Cynthia Douglas, 20 &#8211; escaped with injuries after pretending to be dead. On a hunch from her sister&#8217;s boyfriend, police arrested the teenage Mr Strickland and then reportedly pressured Ms Douglas to pick him out of a line-up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Strickland told police he had been at home watching television. No physical evidence ever linked him to the crimes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i89\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-wpgbih-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1hq4gmv-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-1drmwog-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/B443\/production\/_121774164_57540893_1622751128329237_r-2.jpg 976w\" alt=\"A teenage Kevin Strickland (right) with his father\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" \/><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-dwix6q-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1yybcoc-Stack e1y4nx260\">A teenage Kevin Strickland (right) with his father (Image: Midwest Innocence Project)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">His first trial in 1979 ended with a hung jury, after one black juror on a 12-member panel held out for his acquittal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">At his second trial, an all-white jury found Mr Strickland guilty of one count of capital murder and two counts of second-degree murder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Years later, Ms Douglas would recant her lone eyewitness testimony, writing to the Midwest Innocence Project that &#8220;things were not clear back then, but now I know more and would like to help this person if I can&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-57152860\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How much is 31 years in prison worth in the US?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-37974904\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8216;How I survived 22 years on death row&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Ms Douglas died before she could formally recant her testimony against Mr Strickland, but her mother, sister and daughter have all testified in court that she picked &#8220;the wrong guy&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i85\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17j9f6r-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Prosecutors in Jackson County began reviewing Mr Strickland&#8217;s conviction last November and &#8211; under a new Missouri law &#8211; filed a motion calling for his immediate exoneration and release.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-59452651\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">A fundraiser set up to help a Missouri man who served more than 42 years in jail for a triple murder he did not commit has reached $1.5m (\u00a31.1m). Kevin Strickland was freed on Tuesday <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/11\/28\/kevin-strickland-fundraiser-for-exonerated-missouri-man-tops-1-5m\/\" title=\"Kevin Strickland: Fundraiser for exonerated Missouri man tops $1.5m\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[4419,371],"class_list":{"0":"post-20492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-missouri","12":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20492"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20495,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20492\/revisions\/20495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}