St. Louis Observer: May 13, 2022
SLMPD evicts unhoused residents from tent encampment; new bill would charge developers for reducing units; prison nursery bill clears #MOLeg end-of-session chaos
Editor’s Note
Last week in St. Louis - for the first time in a really, really long time - our City had zero pending death penalty cases.
In other words, we have become a death penalty-free city - and we should all be celebrating. This is a moment in time where abolition advocates have won a hard-fought victory in the City of St. Louis, and this further is a moment that we can sustain.
At the same time, we fully acknowledge that elected prosecutor, Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, has retained the power to abolish the death penalty in St. Louis City since the day she took office. We recognize that, instead of shifting prosecuting to obtain a life sentence, her administration instead first attempted to bring in the notorious Attorney General’s Office to continue her quest for the death penalty. And we remember, not too long ago, when her office asked federal prosecutors to investigate and file their own charges. Federal prosecutors announced in late March that they would not seek the death penalty, effectively removing the moral and ethical dilemma from Gardner’s plate.
This well-earned win did not come through Gardner’s actions, but rather the intervention from federal prosecutors. Nevertheless - we are all here in this pivotal moment, and we can move forward together to maintain zero death penalty cases in St. Louis.
Since 2000, the State of Missouri has executed 51 people, in our names as voters and on our behalf. That’s at least two state-sponsored deaths - scheduled murders - every year for the last 22 years, and more executions are expected to be scheduled.
We live in a state where nearly half of all pending death row cases were obtained by a verifiably corrupt prosecutor, but hope is not lost for the 15 men waiting for their execution date. Prosecuting attorneys, elected to represent the people within their judicial circuits, hold a lot of power, including the ability to re-examine the integrity of the evidence and convictions by their predecessors against persons sentenced to death. And given what’s at stake, we would argue that every circuit attorney is obligated to do so. Conviction integrity units continue to rise in popularity as true progressive prosecutors see their value in restoring public trust in an otherwise dysfunctional criminal legal system.
In the meantime, we continue to hope that Gardner will step into her power and decline to seek the death penalty against defendants in her jurisdiction.
In the News
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
St. Louis Metropolitan Police have forcibly removed residents living in a tent encampment in South City along the River des Peres. Residents, who were not served a formal eviction notice, were not causing any problems for the landowners, Metropolitan Sewer District, before the public utility contacted SLMPD to participate in the unlawful removal. [Fox 2 News/Zara Barker]
The Missouri legislature passed a bill that forces Kansas City to allocate more funding toward its police department, despite the city’s lack of local control over its own law enforcement agency. The issue of local control of police departments stems back to Missouri’s pro-slavery governor removing autonomy of urban centers from stopping or slowing down Confederate forces as they moved through the state. [Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
A Bridgeton councilman, recently caught living 140 miles away from his district in Illinois, was also exposed for being hired as an assistant state prosecutor in Illinois while under criminal investigation in St. Louis County. Andrew Purcell, who collected $6,000 during the time he resided outside of his district, was hired by Union County, Illinois, to prosecute criminal cases, although Union County maintains that no cases were assigned to Purcell during his short employment. [Fox 2 News/Chris Hayes]
Economic development & housing
A board bill introduced by Ald. Tom Oldenburg (Ward 16) directly targets the City’s unhoused population by banning the placement of tents on publicly-owned land. Although the bill was placed on the informal calendar, effectively pausing its progress, it can be brought back before the full Board of Aldermen if its sponsor can obtain enough votes. [Riverfront Times/Ryan Krull]
A new bill introduced by Ald. Megan Green (Ward 15) would allow voters to decide whether developers of multi-family buildings should pay a penalty to the City’s affordable housing trust when they seek to reduce the number of units in those buildings. The surcharge would target neighborhoods that are mid-gentrification, including Tower Grove South & East, Shaw, Benton Park, and Fox Park. [St. Louis Public Radio/Sarah Fentem]
A new map from the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative documents all vacant properties and lots throughout the City. The color-coded map marks parcels - even entire blocks - also includes ownership data, most often indicating an out-of-town owner who has allowed their property to fall into disrepair or decay. [NextSTL/Mark Groth]
St. Louis community leaders and clergy are publicly requesting more “green” projects, like protected bike lanes, improved green spaces and parks, land remediation, and other measures, in larger development projects. Environmental justice advocates argue that planting trees and community clean-ups are insufficient to address the impact of climate change and bigger steps must be taken. [St. Louis Public Radio/Eric Schmid]
Further reading
Recent research has revealed that nearly 70 years after the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision that racially integrated public schools, American schools are still not racially integrated. The most recent school year for which data is available showed that 42% of Black students attended majority-Black schools, 56% of Latino students attended majority-Latino schools, and 79% of white students attended majority-white schools. [KSDK/The Conversation]
Despite numerous roadblocks and political stunts during the last week of session, the bipartisan bill to create a nursery for Missouri Department of Corrections facilities cleared the Missouri legislature. The bill would allow newborns to stay with incarcerated mothers for the first 18 months after birth; it is unclear to where the young children would be sent after those 18 months end. [Missouri Independent/Tessa Weinberg]
Missouri Republicans’ intent to ban abortions in all cases will impact marginalized communities the hardest, according to healthcare advocates. If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as indicated in last week’s leaked opinion, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortions. [Riverfront Times/Monica Obradovic; St. Louis Public Radio/Andrea Y. Henderson]
The Missouri legislature weakened the state’s ability to regulate hazardous waste, like the Manhattan Project-era nuclear waste that is presently stored below the Bridgeton landfill, blocking state and local lawmakers from strengthening federal regulations. The bill also permits chemical recycling facilities to operate without a solid waste permit, skirting laws that would otherwise protect residents. [Missouri Independent/Allison Kite]
A key component of Kansas City’s Tenants Bill of Rights movement included establishing a guarantee to an attorney for any tenant facing an eviction in housing court. However, basic requirements to enacting the program, including hiring a director, attorneys, and other staff, have not been completed. [KCUR/Celisa Calacal]
Rep. Sharice Davids (D - Kan.) introduced the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies, a legislative commission that would be tasked with investigating and unveiling the traumas experienced by indigenous children at white (typically Christian) boarding schools. Indigenous children who survived the boarding schools uniformly report physical violence, starvation, isolation from family, and mental violence as children were forcibly converted to Christianity and punished if they spoke their own language or observed their own traditions. [Missouri Independent/Adriana Figueroa; KCUR/Luke X. Martin]
Beyond the Paywall
To read these below articles in full, please visit SLPL.org and access these articles through the Digital Content tab. St. Louis City & County residents can read these publications for free using their library cards.
“St. Louis aldermen unanimously endorse national Medicare for All bill,” by Mark Schlinkmann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Bush brings millions in federal earmarks to St. Louis, while some Republicans take a pass,” by Michele Munz and Josh Renaud, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Missouri Senate OKs photo ID requirement for voting,” Associated Press, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Louis Alderman John Collins-Muhammad resigns,” by Mark Schlinkmann and Jacob Barker, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Study: Police shootings rose in Missouri after state relaxed concealed carry restrictions,” The Kansas City Star
“Effort underway in St. Charles County to expand services for homeless,” by Mark Schlinkmann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Louis would impose penalty on rehabbers who reduce a building’s dwelling units,” by Mark Schlinkmann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
BB 14, sponsored by Ald. Tom Oldenburg (Ward 16), would ban tents and homeless encampments from City-owned property. The bill was placed on the informal calendar on May 13, effectively pausing the bill’s progression.
BB 18, sponsored by Ald. Megan Green (Ward 15), would establish the “City Youth Council,” comprised of children and adults, to serve as an advisory board on youth-related issues to both the Office of the Mayor and to the Board of Aldermen. The bill was assigned to the Education and Youth Matters Committee on May 6 for further hearing.
R 25, introduced by Ald. Pamela Boyd (Ward 27), would formally support and endorse Medicare for All legislation, which would expand health security and health services to all, eliminate health disparities, and lower health care costs. The Resolution was passed by the full Board on May 13.
BB 26 and BB 29, sponsored by Ald. Green, would put before City voters the ballot issue of enacting a surcharge on developers who reduced the number of units for housing rehabs and redevelopment. The bill was inexplicably assigned to the Neighborhood Development Committee
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.
