Tuesday’s scheduled execution of Missouri prisoner Lance Shockley will go on. Gov. Mike Kehoe says he will not grant clemency to Shockley, who Missouri is scheduled to execute by lethal injection on Tuesday.
Shockley was convicted of the 2005 murder of Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl DeWayne Graham, Jr. Graham, who had been investigating Shockley’s role in a deadly drunk driving crash, was shot and killed outside his Carter County home.
In a statement, Kehoe shared his stance on the case.
“The murder of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Carl DeWayne Graham, Jr., who was investigating Lance Shockley’s criminal actions at the time, was an attack not only on a dedicated law enforcement officer, but on the rule of law itself,” said Kehoe. “Violence against those who risk their lives every day to protect our communities will never be tolerated. Missouri stands firmly with our men and women in uniform.”
Shockley, 48, has insisted he’s innocent and contends there’s a lack of evidence and eyewitnesses in the crime.
Anti-death penalty advocates gathered last week at the Missouri Capitol, urging the governor to halt the scheduled execution.
Heidi Moore, Executive Director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, told Missourinet that she believes Shockley’s case is based entirely on circumstantial evidence.
“His trial was marred with errors. The lawyer did not put up an adequate defense. In fact, they didn’t present any of Lance’s alibis. Then there was an issue with one of the jurors. The jury foreman, specifically who had written a book about vigilante justice from a car accident, and he was involved through the finding of guilt and innocence.”
Shockley’s case was reviewed and upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court, the federal district court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Missourinet is scheduled to witness Tuesday’s execution and will have more from the state prison in Bonne Terre.
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