The State of Misery megathread

[Razgovory]

What with the college protests, politicians committing suicide, riots and other goin ons in Missouri I thought start a mega thread.  First story!  Local state senator didn't come into work today because he got a death threat.

http://krcgtv.com/news/local/senator-kurt-schaefer-closes-office-following-death-threat

You can hear it here.

https://embed.radio.com/clip/59791186/?ref_url=http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2015/11/17/mo-state-sen-schaefer-shuts-office-citing-death-threat/&station_id=585&rollup_ga_id=UA-2438645-53&ads_ga_page_tracker=UA-20550966-2#

Not exactly clear what caller wants, something about being angry about Christianity.

[Eddie Teach]

Is James Caan writing another book?

[Razgovory]

*Sigh*  A man was taken off Death row because the police beat a confession out of him, and locals are mad that he will no longer be executed.  That sort of reaction is completely baffling.

[Razgovory]

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-reginald-clemons-murder-conviction/article_1ca50602-406d-5701-97ad-c56377357d2a.html

The Missouri Supreme Court threw out on Tuesday first-degree murder convictions for Reginald Clemons, who had been sentenced to death for a 1991 double murder on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

Clemons, 44, had been fighting his conviction and death sentence in the 1991 rape and killing of sisters Julie and Robin Kerry.

In a 4-3 decision written by Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge, the state's high court sent the case back to circuit court.

The decision cited the findings of Michael Manners, a retired judge appointed by the state's highest court as "special master" to review Clemons' case.

Manners found that Clemons had failed to prove his innocence in the case, but concluded that St. Louis prosecutors wrongly suppressed evidence and that detectives had beat Clemons into confessing to the crimes.

Manners said in his report that the jury in Clemons' case might never have heard his taped confession if the state had not failed to disclose a probation officer's statement that he saw injuries to Clemons' face after a police interrogation.

The officer also claimed that one of his supervisors and the lead prosecutor in the case attempted to convince him to change his written report of the injury. He refused, but the report was altered anyway to remove any reference to the injury.

In dissent, Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote that there had been no failure to produce evidence by the state. The state had given Clemons' attorneys the identity of the probation officer "and the document on which (he) supposedly noted this observation long before trial," Wilson wrote.

And he said Clemons was not entitled to relief unless the evidence would have been likely to change the verdict.

The state has 60 days to retry Clemons. If it does not, the case will be dismissed, and Clemons will remain in prison on a 15-year sentence for his conviction in 2007 of assaulting a Department of Corrections employee.

In an emailed statement, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said her staff would "review the Court's decision in its entirety."

"As this crime occurred almost 25 years ago, we will need to review the State's evidence, determine the availability of witnesses and reporting officers in the case, and discuss our options with the victims' family. Once we have completed this process, we will then determine the appropriate course of action within the allotted period of time."

She added, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of Julie and Robin Kerry."

Joyce joined the circuit attorney's office as an assistant prosecutor in 1994, a year after Clemons was sentenced to death. Asked about misconduct by prosecutors in the Clemons case, Joyce wrote that she had "not had an opportunity to review this case or the order, so I'm not in a position to share any thoughts at this point."

The victims' mother, Ginny Kerry, said she learned about the ruling at work Tuesday and was "totally upset" by it.

"Reginald Clemons can tell all the lies he wants, the Lord is no fool," she said. "The Supreme Court can do what it wants. It doesn't matter, my girls are still gone."

Reached by phone, Richard Kerry, father of the victims, said, "I'm not going to express any opinion at this point in time."

Clemons, who is being held at Potosi Correctional Center, declined to comment. One of his attorneys, Joshua Levine, with the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett law firm in New York, said Clemons' legal team was thrilled by the decision to uphold their client's right to a fair trial, "which is all he has sought from the decision."

A representative for Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said the office was still reviewing the decision.

U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, said in an emailed statement that the decision "corrected a grave injustice."

"This is a victory not just for Reggie and his family, but for the Constitution and the rights that it guarantees to every American," Clay said.

Clemons was among four men convicted of raping and murdering sisters Julie Kerry, 20, and Robin Kerry, 19, on the old Chain of Rocks Bridge in April 1991. A jury convicted Clemons without physical evidence of rape. He was sentenced in 1993 to death.

The Kerry sisters led a visiting cousin, Thomas Cummins, then 19, to the unused bridge span on the night of April 5, 1991, to show him a poem they had scrawled there. When they encountered a group of men, the women were raped, and they and Cummins were forced to jump into the Mississippi River. Only Cummins survived.

Misconduct by police and prosecutors was a major factor in Breckenridge's ruling. Early in the investigation, the ruling noted, Cummins confessed that he had pushed his cousins off the bridge, then said police had coerced and scripted a confession.

The probation officer's statement "would also have been significant to the court in its ruling to prohibit defense counsel from arguing during closing arguments that police beat Mr. Clemons to confess, as would the evidence that Mr. Cummins had similarly testified that police physically abused him to confess."

The credibility of the police who said they did not beat Clemons was further impeached by evidence that Clemons was given the unique command to sit on his hands, which was identical to a command given to Cummins as police beat him, she wrote.

Police identified the suspects as Clemons, Marlin Gray, Antonio Richardson and Daniel Winfrey. Winfrey testified in exchange for a 30-year term and has been paroled. The others were sentenced to death. Gray was executed; Richardson's penalty was later changed to life without parole.

Clemons was weeks from being executed in June 2009 when the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals blocked it. The Missouri Supreme Court then agreed to consider the case.

The vote breakdown suggests the court might have been deadlocked until the appointment last month of Lisa White Hardwick as a special judge to rule in the case. (Judge George Draper, who worked in the Circuit Attorney's office from 1984-94, recused himself from the Clemons case.)

Hardwick joined judges Laura Denvir Stith and Richard B. Teitelman in agreeing with Breckenridge.

Judges Zel M. Fischer and Mary R. Russell concurred with Wilson's dissent.

[DGuller]

*Sigh*  A man was taken off Death row because the police beat a confession out of him, and locals are mad that he will no longer be executed.  That sort of reaction is completely baffling.

Newsflash:  people generally don't like volunteering information that will put them on death row.  If beating a confession out of someone is enough to invalidate a death sentence, then pretty much every death sentence given in Soviet Union is invalid.

[Razgovory]

Well, that's a good point.

[Razgovory]

St. Louis Rams wide receiver was shot in the head today.  Two days ago the quarterback got a pretty bad concussion.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/25/us/rams-stedman-bailey-hospitalized/index.html

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey is in critical condition after being shot while sitting in a car in the Miami area, police said.

Bailey, 25, was in the car with four others -- two of them minors -- near a Miami Gardens residence "when another vehicle arrived and opened fire" around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, police in that South Florida community said. He and another man, Antwan Reeves, were both shot.

"The victims drove themselves to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment," police said.

A report on NFL.com, citing "a source informed of the incident," said that Bailey was struck twice in the head. The story indicated he had non-life-threatening injuries.

The Rams issued a statement that did not detail what happened to the receiver, but did say someone with the team has spoken to him. The team added that Bailey is in critical, but stable condition.

"#Pray4Stedman," the Rams later tweeted.

The Miami Gardens police gave the same condition for Bailey, adding that "Reeves was taken into surgery shortly upon arriving at the hospital."

Authorities haven't identified whoever they think shot both men. But Miami Gardens police did say they are looking for a light-colored, four-door sedan that may be a Buick Regal.

A third-round draft pick for the Rams in 2013, Bailey left West Virginia University with the school's second-highest number of receptions: 210.

He racked up 17 receptions while playing in all of his team's games during his rookie campaign, then had team's games during his rookie campaign, then had another 30 receptions (one for a touchdown) last year. Bailey had 12 catches -- including a 68-yarder for a touchdown -- in the first half of this season before the NFL suspended him for four games for for violating its substance abuse policy.

The receiver is eligible to return to the Rams' active roster on December 7, one day after the team plays the Arizona Cardinals.

But getting back on the field on that date isn't certain now. Football players across the country offered support and prayers for Bailey's recovery.

"Just woke up to the awful news," James Laurinaitis, a Rams linebacker, tweeted. "Everyone please pray for his family and loved ones and for a full recovery!"

[Razgovory]

Well here's a story that's been circulating.

The FBI is aware of reports of men visiting Walmart stores in several cities in Missouri and purchasing or trying to purchase large quantities of cellular telephones.  An FBI spokeswoman won't say exactly how much its agents are delving into the purchases.   Some of the cities where the purchases and attempted purchases are reported by police and media are Macon, Columbia, Jefferson City, Lebanon, Ava, Jackson and Cape Girardeau.

Ava police say a man of Middle Eastern background bought a large number of cellular telephones at the Walmart store in Ava about 6:15 a.m. last Saturday. Police questioned the man, who was from Michigan, and he told them that he is a businessman. Police found no reason to detain him.

That purchase was about three hours after two men bought 60 cell phones at the Walmart store in Lebanon.  Officers there questioned the men, at least one of whom said he is from Michigan, according to Ava police.  Laclede County Sheriff Wayne Merritt said officers also found no reason to detain the cell phone buyers in Lebanon.

An Ava Police Department spokeswoman said her department's officers also have heard of a similar purchase of a large number of cell phones at a Walmart store in Columbia.  She said it's possible that all three purchases are related and by the same men.

A TV station in Kansas City reported similar purchases or attempted purchases in Macon and Jefferson City.  A TV station in Jefferson City reported similar purchases at stores in Jackson and Cape Girardeau, as well as other cities.

After an earlier version of this story was posted on Thursday afternoon, the Marshfield police chief called to say that a man who gave a Michigan address made a similar purchase of a 19 prepaid cell phones in his city in October.  The chief said that man gave a false tax exempt waiver form to the store and bought the phones without sales taxes.

KY3 reporters have repeatedly called Walmart headquarters to try to find out if Walmart has a policy that limits the number of cell phones that one person can buy at a time, or has recently changed its policy.  Walmart representatives have not returned those calls. On Thursday, a KSPR reporter went to the Walmart store on South Campbell Avenue in Springfield and tried to buy six cell phones and was told the limit is two; the store employees were not told he is a reporter.

Law enforcement officers say purchasing cellphones in bulk is done for any number of uses, including to give as gifts or to resell for profit.  Law enforcement agencies report cell phones are also potential tools in the hands of terrorists. The devices can be used to communicate and they're difficult to trace if they're prepaid phones; they can also be used as detonators for bombs.

Marco Denis, owner of First Impressions Wireless says, "Especially with everything that's going on right now, and we know what the cell phone is capable of doing, because of that, it looks a little bit suspicious to us also."

Denis says he would never sell sixty phones at once.  "We've had people come in asking for 10 phones or 15 phones, and we usually ask them questions, why do you need that many phones?  And if they cannot give us an answer, we usually do not sell it to them," Denis says.

He says he buys from a master dealer, not from individuals, but people do try.  "I said hey, we would love to purchase from you, but we want to call the cops and make sure those phones are not stolen, and we want to check them out, and the guy run from the store as fast as he could!" Denis says.

At Choose Your Own Wireless, general manger Shannon Flood says large quantity cell phone purchases are not necessarily suspect.  "I see a lot of people that have a lot of fear out there, and I wanted to just try to let people know that there actually is a legitimate reason as well," says Flood.

He believes the purchasers could be buying phones to send or sell to foreign countries, sell to stores like his, or sell online.  "These people will purchase the phones while they're on sale, and when the sale's overwith, they'll resell them at manufacturer's retail cost online," says Flood.

We don't know what phones were purchased at the WalMarts or how much they cost.  But to illustrate Shannon's point, we found a phone on sale at Walmart.com for less than five dollars.  The same phone is being sold by an E-bay seller who has more than ten of them for about 20 dollars each.

News release from Ava Police Department:

"On 12-05-2015 at approximately 0623 in the morning, the Ava Police Department received a report of a Middle Eastern male subject who had purchased a large amount of cell phones from Wal-Mart and had left a cell phone in the restroom. Officers responded and secured the phone.

"While speaking with Wal-Mart employees the subject who left the phone returned to the store to get it. Officers spoke with the male subject who was of Middle Eastern decent and asked for identification which was provided. After speaking with the subject, officers did not have any legal reason to detain him, so they allowed him to leave.

"Officers did contact the Missouri Highway Patrol Intelligence Unit and advised them of the situation and also contacted other local Wal-Marts in the surrounding areas to be on the lookout for the subject. After speaking with employees at the Lebanon Wal-Mart, officers were advised the subject had already purchased 59 cell phones from that store earlier. Officers contacted the Lebanon Police Department and were advised they had already contacted the FBI and when they spoke to them again, they would have them contact the Ava Police Department as well.

"As always if anyone hears or sees something suspicious contact local authorities immediately. It does not hurt to have it checked out and you can remain anonymous."

http://www.ky3.com/news/local/number-of-reports-of-mass-cell-phone-buys-grows-in-missouri/21048998_36900370

Everyone is freaking out about Muslims 'round these parts.

[Razgovory]

Everything down river of us is being flooded.  Jefferson City is fine, it's worse then '93 for places just a few miles to the West.

[KRonn]

Everything down river of us is being flooded.  Jefferson City is fine, it's worse then '93 for places just a few miles to the West.

Yeah, I'm seeing stories of flooding on the news. It looks pretty bad in some areas. What a mess and tragedy that all makes, plus the tornadoes that have hit areas, though not sure if Missouri was hit by those too.

[Razgovory]

Missouri lawmakers get in fight outside local bar

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A state representative filed a restraining order against another lawmaker after the two got in a fistfight over the right-to-work bill.

A Missouri lawmaker says a colleague upset over a right-to-work bill took a swing at him in an alley outside a Jefferson City restaurant and the two ended up in a fistfight.

Rep. Courtney Allen Curtis says Rep. Michael Butler followed him into the alley and struck him outside Bones Restaurant and Lounge on January 19. According to the Associated Press, Curtis also asked the House speaker to open an ethics investigation against Butler.

Both are Democratic lawmakers from the St. Louis area. The men used to be roommates in Jefferson City.

The Associated Press reports that Curtis told police Butler verbally confronted him during an AFL-CIO reception because Curtis had supported a right-to-work bill limiting union powers.

Curtis said the fistfight took place in the alley as he was leaving.

In the restraining order, Curtis alleges that Butler also tried to fight him in May of 2015, but he walked away.

"Given that [Butler] started a verbal argument this time and followed through with a fight, I feel he is unstable and unpredictable," Curtis wrote in his restraining order documentation.

http://krcgtv.com/news/local/missouri-lawmakers-get-in-fistfight-over-right-to-work-bill