DNA Clears KC Man of 1983 Rape, New Suspect Accused June 14, 2013

Former inmate Robert Edward Nelson

A Kansas City man has been freed from prison after serving years for a rape DNA testing now shows he didn’t commit.

Robert Edward nelson was released from the Missouri prison system Wednesday.

Prosecutors and the Midwest Innocence Project announced Nelson’s release Friday at a news conference.

The Midwest Innocence Project entered the case because of major problems with Nelson’s conviction.

“Robert Nelson was wrongly convicted because his lawyer did a terrible job,” said Midwest Innocence Project Executive Director Laura O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan Nelson’s lawyer didn’t make basic legal moves to challenge his conviction.

She also says the victim misidentified Nelson as one of her attackers.

“Mistaken eyewitness identification is one of the main reasons for wrongful convictions in the U-S,” she said.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says the 1983 Kansas City rape case has been re-opened. A news suspect is facing charges.

Prosecutors filed rape, sodomy and robbery charges against Jerry A. Haley of Kansas City. They are also seeking a second suspect in the renewed prosecution.

“This is a day where justice is served. We have charged someone with this crime,” stated Peters Baker.

Nelson was not at the news conference Friday afternoon. O’Sullivan says the transition for him, after spending 30 years in prison, will take some time.

“He was trying to figure out how cell phones worked when I was with him the other day. So this is a big transition for him.”

O’Sullivan says another major adjustment for news will be car windows. She says went he was imprisoned, car windows were operated with a handle. He is surprised to see the same thing is done now with a latch.

Nixon Appoints Top Jackson Co. Prosecutor to Bench July 24, 2012

Missouri Governor jay Nixon has appointed a top Jackson County Prosecutor to the circuit Court.
Nixon has named Kevin Harrell, who is currently the chief deputy prosecuting attorney, to the Jackson County Circuit Court.
He replaces the Hon. Brian Wimes, who was named to the federal court as a judge.
Harrell has been with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office since 1998. He was considered for the post of Prosecutor when Jean Peters Baker was appointed to the post.
“Kevin Harrell has a strong and lengthy record of ably handing a wide variety of cases in Jackson County,” said Nixon when he made the appointment.

Police & Prosecutors Vow Crackdown on the Most Violent May 16, 2012

KC Star:

Kansas City leaders are promising the city’s most violent criminals a long hot summer.
And it has nothing to do with the weather.
A new initiative announced Tuesday afternoon will target those thought to be disproportionally responsible for the majority of violent crime on Kansas City streets.
“Kind of like cutting out a tumor,” said Kansas City Mayor Sly James.
James announced the plan, called the KC No Violence Alliance, or KC NoVA, along with Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté at an afternoon press conference.
It will become a long-term collaborative effort aimed at the city’s urban core, which bears the brunt of violent crime, they said.
And beyond the focus on taking the worst criminals off the streets, it also will contain a social service component that will help with things like job training, education and health care for those seeking a way out of the criminal lifestyle.
The Kansas City plan is the result of several months of planning and studying similar “focused deterrence” programs in cities like Boston, Indianapolis and Cincinnati that have seen significant decreases in homicides and gun-related crimes.
“I’m confident it will yield similar positive results,” Forté said.
Though planning has been going on for months, the program recently received a jump start in the form of a $74,000 grant from Greater Kansas City Local Initiatives Support Corp., or LISC.
Part of the grant will be used to hire a project manager to oversee the effort and part will go to the University of Missouri-Kansas City to collect and evaluate data to determine where resources should be focused and on whom.
That effort will include creating profiles of the worst offenders, who can expect to bear the brunt of the concentrated effort, Baker said.

Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/kc-to-target-violent-criminals-through-new-initiative/#storylink=cpy

Prosecutor Baker Praises Finn Ruling, Even Though Court Opinion Includes Set Backs April 5, 2012

Jackson. County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker was pleased to learn of the ruling in the Bishop Finn case today (see previous post).
A Jackson County Judge ruled the misdemeanor case, accusing the leader of the Kansas City, Missouri Catholic Church Bishop Robert Finn, of failing to promptly report suspected child abuse to state authorities.
The charges stem from the child abuse indictments against one of Finn’s priests, Fr. Shawn Ratigan.
“We were pleased to read Judge Torrence’s ruling today. Our office will continue to prepare diligently for trial in this case," Baker stated in a news release.
While the Prosecutor’s office won the main points of the hearing, Judge Torrance rules against Baker’s office on a couple of points.
One included the use of subpoena power after the charge has been filed
Baker’s office says they will be able to proceed despite the setback.
The Prosecutor’s office says the Finn case is scheduled for trial September 24, 2012.

False Witness Lawyer Defends Putting Twin in Courtoom, Says Tactic was “Reasonable” December 17, 2011

Defense Attorney Dorothy Savory is defending herself from charges of professional misconduct.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is trying to kick Savory off a robbery case.
Wednesday December 14, Savory placed the identical twin of robbery defendant Durrel White, Jr. at the defense table for White’s preliminary hearing.
Savory was trying to prove the robbery victim did not get a good look at the robber because it happened so fast.
Savory says her client, Durrel White, is innocent.
Darion White, the man’s twin brother sat at the defense table, not Durrel White. He was outside in the courtroom hallway. A policeman involved in the case recognized the correct defendant and alerted prosecutors.
Savory,in a Saturday news release, says she thinks her strategy “was deemed reasonable at the time”
She says the robbery victim on the stand, “under oath identifies a person who has a drastically different skin complexion, height,weight and hairstyle than the defendant”.
The prosecutor said Savory’s effort to trick the victim on the stand is a case of ‘blatant professional misconduct”.
The statement says “Ms Savory is prepared to accept any consequences for her inactions and actions.”