By Christopher Dunn
Change has finally come. Since 1988, the statues of Missouri haven’t seen a legally significant change, and to be completely honest with you, we’ve been waiting for so long that we’ve practically forgotten what a breath of fresh air feels like.
In the 1970’s, our state was facing a sad, pitiful-looking reality. As we stared at ourselves in the mirror, we could barely recognize the disfigured reflection or accept that the image was derived from our actual reality. Now, this newly profound hope has soared on the wings of a prayer. The Missouri Three caused this to manifest in physical form. This wasn’t a benediction that rose from one unfortunate legal debacle as some of the Missouri Innocence Project would suggest, but a combined misfortune of legal right deprivation, which gave life to this avenue of relief. The prospect of giving life back to many of us has opened up our lungs. It’s allowed us to breathe a deep sigh of relief.
Change is in the air, and with the overall support of Senate Bill 53, we are stepping forward in the age of progress. But we still can’t entirely fill our lungs with air, because even through SB 53 is a good step forward, we need to take an even greater leap to show our struggle was a worthy cause. We must join the Missouri Three and call to end the blockage of rights to “freestanding actual innocence for non-death-row petitioners.” Overturn the 2016 Western District decision in the case of Lincoln v. Cassady.
- Support all actual innocence, non-death-row petitions seeking relief under “freestanding innocence.”
- Overturn/recall the mandate of the Western District 2016 ruling in Lincoln v. Cassady.
- Free the Missouri Three (FREE-DA-MO3)
Christopher Dunn – Wrongfully imprisoned since May 19, 1990
Kevin Strickland – Wrongfully imprisoned since April 25, 1978
Lamar Johnson – Wrongfully imprisoned since 1994