St. Louis Observer: December 16, 2022
St. Louis Observer: December 16, 2022
Lamar Johnson gets his day in court; new SLMPD police chief announced; guaranteed basic income program approved by STLBOA; Missouri GOP targets citizen initiative petitions
Editor’s Note
You may have recently noticed some changes with the Observers’ layout and delivery. We have been working hard to reformat our weekly newsletter into a biweekly newsletter to deliver the most noteworthy news in prison & police abolition in St. Louis.
We recognize that there’s a lot happening in the Mound City and in Missouri, and we want always to maintain our focus on the bigger picture: the goal of abolishing policing and prisons as we know them.
After more than a year and a half of (almost) weekly news round-ups - on policing, the criminal legal system, reparations and restorative justice, and access to ancillary systems such as the healthcare and education systems - we’re making some small changes to reflect the news & stories that resonate most with our readers. In the coming months, we will be adding a few more ways to stay up-to-date with abolition news.
We will still continue to bring you recaps of important abolition-related news, legislative updates, notable quotes, and commentary, but we want to give ourselves room to grow as we expand into every corner of the state.
We wish all of our readers a Warm Solstice and the Happiest of Holidays, and we’ll see you in 2023!
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
Wilmington, Delaware, police chief Robert Tracy has been announced as the new police chief for St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, bringing more than 30 years of outside law enforcement experience to the department of public safety. Tracy previously worked for the Chicago Police Department and the New York Police Department. The Wilmington city council passed a vote of no confidence against Tracy earlier this year, over a lack of department diversity and transparency. [Ryan Krull/Riverfront Times; Rachel Lippmann/St. Louis Public Radio; Alvin A. Reid/St. Louis American]
Former Missouri inmates and exonerees have rallied this week in support of Lamar Johnson, who has spent the entire week in hearings to review whether his 1995 murder conviction should be vacated. Bobby Bostic, sentenced to 241 years as a juvenile, and Rodney Lincoln, released by Gov. Greitens after exonerating evidence was discovered, both appeared outside and inside of the downtown courthouse in support of their friend. Today is the last day for Judge David Mason to hear evidence on Johnson’s wrongful conviction. [Monica Obradovic/Riverfront Times]
Johnson County is expanding its veterans treatment courts program, with the aim of connecting defendants to mental health and substance abuse treatment instead of carceral punishment, which leads to recidivism and future legal troubles. Persons with mental illness who are incarcerated spend, on average, 21 more days in prison and are at a higher risk of physical illness and death. Prior to the 2020 pandemic, there were 138 treatment courts in Missouri. [Noah Taborda/KCUR]
The St. Louis Regional Racial Healing + Justice Fund has awarded $16,000 grants to five area organizations tasked with helping students and their families recover from the recent school shooting at an SLPS campus. The grant funding will allow organizations to aid school leaders in addressing gun-related injuries and violence for those who are traumatized by their experiences. [Andrea Y. Henderson/St. Louis Public Radio]
The family of DeJuan Brison has settled with St. Louis City, County, and Jennings for an undisclosed sum, related to the 26-year-old’s suspicious death. Brison had been placed on “suicide watch” at the City Justice Center before he was transferred to the City of Jennings. Because Jennings and St. Louis County failed to ensure the “suicide watch” status, Brison hung himself. The Brison family attorney has argued that Brison should not have been incarcerated in the first place, as he had not been criminally charged and had posted a bond for his case in Jennings. [Ryan Krull/Riverfront Times]
Economic development and housing
Ald. Shameem Clark Hubbard’s guaranteed basic income bill has won board-wide approval, clearing a path for 440 St. Louis Public Schools families in need to receive $500 per month for 18 months, as part of a municipal basic income program. More than 30 other cities in the U.S. have launched similar programs to support new mothers or recently-released incarcerated persons. Overall, the bill allocated $52.2 million of the City’s remaining American Rescue Plan Funds, with the largest appropriation - nearly $20 million - going to the Department of Human Services for housing stabilization and rental support, among other things. [Monica Obradovic/Riverfront Times; Ashley Winters/St. Louis American]
Further reading
Hate crimes in Missouri - targeting individuals based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation - rose nearly 70 percent between 2020 to 2021. The overwhelming majority of offenders committing hate crimes in Missouri are white, with 481 out of 591 Missouri law enforcement agencies submitting their hate crime data to the FBI database. [Monica Obradovic/Riverfront Times]
Missouri Republicans are aiming to curtail state initiative petitions, which have allowed voters to pass their own legislation and bypass a dysfunctional state legislature. Important pieces of legislation, like Medicaid Expansion and the medical & recreational legalization of cannabis, have occurred through voter-initiated petitions. Lawmakers are considering raising the number of signatures to collect and the approval threshold for a citizens’ initiative to pass. [Meg Cunningham/The Kansas City Beacon]
The Missouri food benefits program has been delayed, with families likely not able to see benefits from the summer, earmarked for low-income children, until later this winter. The federally-funded COVID relief program, Pandemic EBT, was designed to help families cover food expenses during the summer months, while children were not in school. The program provides $391 of grocery benefits for every child who qualifies for subsidized school lunches. The State of Missouri has been unable to provide a clear timeline for when struggling families can expect to see their benefits. [Clara Bates/Missouri Independent]
Beyond the Paywall
To read the 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 free using their library cards.
“Messenger: Freedom Suits Memorial has message that rings true in Lamar Johnson case,” by Tony Messenger, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Cruel and unusual? One lawmaker wants to ban mystery loaf in Missouri prisons,” by Kurt Erickson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
BB 116, sponsored by Ald. Shameem Clark Hubbard (Ward 26), would delegate a portion of the City’s remaining ARPA funds to create a universal basic income pilot program. The bill was passed by the full board and delivered to the Mayor’s Office on December 13.
BB 87, sponsored by Ald. Pamela Boyd (Ward 27) and Ald. Carol Howard (Ward 14), would add a new police district to cover Lambert International Airport, raising the number to 7 total in the City of St. Louis. The bill was assigned to the Public Safety Committee on September 16 and has had no further movement.
BB 64, sponsored by Ald. Shane Cohn (Ward 25), would establish “transparent, standardized, and beneficial policies and procedures” for considering development proposals before the Board of Aldermen. The bill was heard by the Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning Committee on December 15.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.
Track these board bills and much more on St. Louis PoliticClips’ dashboard.
Quote of the Week
“I have never been arrested for this long. It’s the most terrifying experience in my life. It is even more terrifying or even more threatening than the hardships of life outside of these walls.”
Lamar Johnson, reading a 1995 letter that he wrote to a judge following his wrongful conviction for the murder of his friend, Marcus Boyd