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New team to track down thousands of untested rape kits across Missouri: “It’s a long time coming.”

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The state’s top law enforcement agency does not know how many untested rape kits remain in crime labs and hospital storage rooms across Missouri.

But they have six months to find out.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (L) Wednesday announces the appointment of M. Keithley Williams, a former Jasper County judge and for the past 11 years, a treatment court administrator in St. Louis.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt tapped Judge M. Keithly Williams to be the state coordinator of the newly-established Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. The program is funded by a $2.8 million federal grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, applied for by the previous state Attorney General Josh Hawley.

Schmitt says his office will hire staff, who have six months to determine how many rape kits remain untested in order to get the remaining 75 percent of the grant.

Williams says this inventory will be very different than the previous “suggested” inventory of 5,400 samples.

“When that inventory, or that suggested inventory, was discovered, about 40 percent of the agencies actually responded to the survey and about 40 percent of the hospitals responded to the survey so we actually don’t know what we’re going to find when the inventory begins,” Williams said Wednesday.

“This inventory will be very different. It’s not just calling and asking ‘how many do you have?’ We’ll actually be helping law enforcement and the hospital staff do a physical count, record the information, have it prepared to put in a database so we will know precisely the location of each untested kit and we’ll know where to begin our task.”

Schmitt says part of the process is finding out from law enforcement why there’s a backlog. Late last year, CNN highlighted the Springfield Police Department for destroying older, untested rape kits.

“We really do want to work in a cooperative way. Testing takes money and that’s part of this grant process too,” he said. “It takes an incredible amount of courage for a victim to come forward and submit to this test–and they deserve to know answers.”

Once they build a database, those involved in a rape case should have access to the information they need: hospitals, police departments and victims who can look up the status of their individual case.

“This is really an ongoing process, we haven’t yet started the planning,” Williams said. “I suspect it’s going to take years, to be honest. It’s a long-time coming.”

 

 

 

 

Judge rules Missouri is due more tobacco settlement money

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A circuit judge has ruled Missouri is due nearly $50-million more in this year’s tobacco settlement payment.

The office of Attorney General Chris Koster says the St. Louis Circuit Court ruling partially vacates a 2013 arbitration panel decision that cost Missouri about $70-million from this year’s payment.

Koster has notified the independent auditor that calculates the settlement payments to Missouri and demanded that Missouri’s payment be revised to reflect the new ruling.

In a statement Koster says, “This money will provide needed support for state priorities like public education. I thank our dedicated team of attorneys, who have litigated this case for years to ensure that Missouri receives its fair share of the settlement money.”

The 2013 ruling against Missouri stemmed from the allegation by tobacco companies that participated in the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) that many states, including Missouri, failed to diligently enforce state tobacco laws in 2003. Those companies argued they were entitled to withhold a large portion of their payment for 2003 under the terms of the agreement.

22 states settled their cases. The 3-judge panel issued its 2013 decision against Missouri and five other states that did not settle, and ruled that they were responsible not only for their own share of the loss but also for the shares of the states that had settled. Friday’s ruling stems from a suit filed by Koster last fall arguing that reallocating the liability of the settling states onto the six states that didn’t settle violated the terms of the MSA.

Attorney General issues statement on execution of William Rousan

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Attorney General Chris Koster has released a statement regarding the execution Wednesday morning of William Rousan for the 1993 murder of Grace Lewis.

Koster writes, “William Rousan displayed an appalling indifference to human life in the murders of Charles and Grace Lewis. He showed his true character by ordering his 16-year-old son to kill Mrs. Lewis, all so they could steal two cows, soda, a VCR, and some jewelry. Tonight he paid the price the jury recommended nearly 18 years ago. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Charles and Grace Lewis.”

Three inmates’ attorneys argue against setting of their execution dates

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Attorneys for three men sentenced to be executed have presented their arguments to the Missouri Supreme Court why it shouldn’t set a date for their executions. The Court ordered those attorneys to prepare those arguments in Show Cause orders issued in each case, January 29.  The State Attorney General’s Office has responded to two of them.

Russell Bucklew, William Rousan and Cecil Clayton (photos courtesy; Missouri Department of Corrections)

Russell Bucklew, William Rousan and Cecil Clayton (photos courtesy; Missouri Department of Corrections)

Among the arguments attorneys for William Rousan, Russell Bucklew and Cecil Clayton separately make is that because their clients are plaintiffs in Zink v. Lombardi, ongoing federal litigation regarding Missouri’s lethal injection process, their executions should not proceed until that has been settled. To this point, the Attorney General’s Office argues legal precedent that federal litigation is not a reason not to set an execution date.  Joseph Franklin, Allen Nicklasson and Herbert Smulls were also plaintiffs in Zink v. Lombardi when they were executed in November, December and January, respectively.

Attorneys for Clayton argue that he is incompetent to understand his punishment due to a deteriorating mental state, in part because of a head injury 25 years before he fatally shot Berry County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Castetter in November, 1996. That injury at a sawmill resulted in the removal of part of the right frontal lobe of his brain. The Attorney General’s Office’s response to the arguments of Clayton’s attorneys is due March 5.

Attorneys for Bucklew, who in 1996 shot Michael Sanders, the presumed new boyfriend of his ex, say he suffers from malformed blood vessels that cause among other things, bleeding from his mouth and eyes, and could increase the risk of a painful or prolonged lethal injection. The state argues that doesn’t merit an indefinite delay in setting his execution date.

Rousan also claims instructions given to the jury at his trial were confusing; an issue the state says the Court and federal courts have already dealt with. Rousan, his son and brother participated in the murder of a rural Bonne Terre couple as part of a cattle theft and robbery.

Missouri is scheduled to carry out the execution by lethal injection of Michael Taylor early Wednesday morning. Taylor is one of two men sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the 1989 murder of 15-year-old Ann Harrison of Kansas City.

On Friday the State Supreme Court set March 26 as the date for the execution of Jeffrey Ferguson for the 1989 abduction, rape and murder of 17-year-old Kelli Hall in St. Louis County.

Both Ferguson and Taylor were among four men for whom the Supreme Court in December ordered attorneys to present arguments why their execution dates should not be set. The others of those four were Roderick Nunley and David Barnett. Nunley is the second man who plead guilty in the murder of Harrison. Barnett stabbed each of his grandparents more than 10 times at their Glendale home before stealing their car and $120 in cash.

Missouri Attorney General investigating propane price hikes

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The Attorney General’s Office has announced it will investigate the cause of the rise in the price of propane gas.

Attorney General Chris Koster acknowledges that he received a request from Senator Mike Parson (R-Bolivar) to conduct an investigation, and says forty consumers have filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division about increases.

Consumers say the price of propane gas has gone from about $1.91 in December to about $5.00 recently.

In a statement Koster says, “Missourians are justifiably concerned about the dramatic increase in propane prices, affecting their ability to heat their homes and care for Missouri-based livestock,” Koster said. “I want to thank Senator Mike Parson and many others who have highlighted this important issue and brought these complaints to our office. We are currently investigating all complaints, and working with businesses and agencies in 9 other states across the Midwest to determine the cause of these price increases.”

On Friday, consumer investigators with the Attorney General’s Office took part in a multi-state conference call with representatives of the propane gas industry. Distributors and analysts say a sharp increase in the export of propane and higher winter consumption have created a shortfall in supplies of domestic propane.