Kevin Strickland spent his 62nd birthday behind bars. It’s the 43rd time he has spent a birthday in prison and says he desperately hopes it will be his last.
LINSEY DAVIS, ASHLEY SCHWARTZ-LAVARES, GABRIELLA ABDUL-HAKIM, ALLIE YANG, ANDREA AMIEL, MEREDITH FROST and SENI TIENABESO
PHOTO: More than a dozen state lawmakers are now calling on Missouri Governor Mike Parson to pardon Strickland. More than a dozen state lawmakers are now calling on Missouri Governor Mike Parson to pardon Strickland. Among them, Rep. Andrew McDaniel, the Republican chair of the state’s House committee that oversees its prison system.Strickland was sentenced in 1979, a year after he was arrested for the gruesome triple homicide.
The crime shook the local community. While Strickland was in custody and charged with the murders, two other suspects, Vincent Bell and Kilm Adkins, were on the run. Police later arrested them for the crime as well. At the time, he said he was confident Cynthia Douglas, the only surviving victim, knew him and would know he was not involved. But Douglas later pointed him out as one of the shooters in a police lineup.
“I didn’t know I could cry that bad,” he said, remembering his first trial. “I mean, this is unbelievable.” “I am seeking info on how to help someone that was wrongfully accused,” she wrote. “I was the only eyewitness and things were not clear back then, but now I know more and would like to help this person if I can.”
Last week, the Missouri Office of the Governor announced 36 pardons, but Strickland was not one of them. “Under Missouri law, those who have been exonerated do not get compensation. It's another wrong,” she said. “[Commutation is] kind of saying I did it but you feel like I have served enough time. No, I didn't do it,” he said. “No, wipe it off.”
Kevin Strickland said that he joked with a friend that he might have to live under a bridge if he is released.
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