St. Louis Observer: October 7, 2022
Darren Emery sentenced to death by jury; Biden announces move on minor cannabis felonies; Gardner sued under Sunshine laws for crime stats; DACA struck down by federal appeals court
Editor’s Note
Below is an excerpt from an op-ed written by Elyse Max, Executive Director of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, exclusively for the St. Louis Observer
“While the executive branch is busy scheduling back-to-back executions, everyday Missourians (potential jurors) are moving away from viewing the death penalty as an appropriate punishment. Missouri had not had a death sentence since January 2018 when Judge Montjoy in Greene County overrode a deadlocked jury and sentenced Craig Woods to death. No judge has not upheld a jury sentencing of death since 2013 in Laclede County. According to pollsters, approval of the death penalty is the lowest it has been in half a century. That is except in St. Charles County, where twice this year, jurors voted unanimously to impose the ultimate punishment.
Just this week, on October 4th, St. Charles County jurors chose to sentence Darren Emery to death on four counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors claimed he was a mastermind and that jurors needed to “send a message” that St. Charles won’t “tolerate this in any way.” The defense argued that Emery was mentally deficient, diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and was in a “dreamlike state” during the crime. Witnesses for the defense included Emery’s mother, Ella Jo Roe, his father, Richard Emery, and other loved ones, who spoke about Darren’s caring nature and how unexpected what happened on that fateful night in 2018. After less than two hours of deliberation, jurors came back with a verdict recommending the state murder of Darren Emery…
…As Judge Micheal Fagras read the sentence of death, tears filled the eyes on both sides of the courtroom. The ultimate sentence will explicitly link the victims’ families for the next 20- 30 years. Over time, any hopes for closure dissipate. The cycle of violence and trauma will be prolonged and in the public eye until Emery dies in jail or until the state kills him. And when he finally completes his sentence, the only thing gained is more victims.
Emery is scheduled for sentencing in St. Charles County Court in Division 4 on November 3rd. Judge Fagras can decide that the facts of the case do not warrant the ultimate punishment, or he can uphold the jury's recommendation and continue the cycle of violence.”
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
A St. Charles County jury has sentenced a man to death, after being convicted for the murders of his girlfriend, her two children, and the girlfriend’s mother. Darren Emery now awaits for the St. Charles County judge to either affirm the jury’s sentence, or override that sentence in exchange for life without parole. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Katie Kull]
Jackson County prosecuting attorney Jean Peters Baker is speaking out about the questionable, abusive legal practices of Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office during wrongful conviction litigation. Under Schmitt’s leadership, assistant attorneys general attempted to rename Kevin Strickland’s case to attack Baker personally, filed a number of frivolous motions, and lacked actual evidence to support the Attorney General’s legal positions. While typically this conduct is sanctionable by the courts, judges statewide have seemingly settled on looking the other way. [Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
Two St. Louis City attorneys have sued Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner for the release of crime statistics maintained by the prosecutor’s office, which Gardner’s office has refused to disclose. Gardner’s office has quizzically claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic caused the delay and further asserted that the request for her office’s crime data was “vague and ambiguous.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tony Messenger]
President Joe Biden has announced a series of minor cannabis-related moves that will pardon an estimated 6,500 federal marijuana “simple possession” felonies from 1992 and 2021 and will review the process for re-classifying cannabis, currently designated as a “Schedule 1” drug alongside fentanyl and heroin. A pardon, however, does not mean that the charges are expunged from a person’s record, and there are no persons currently incarcerated for “simple possession” of cannabis that will be released under Biden’s announcement. [Missouri Independent/Ariana Figueroa, Jennifer Shutt, Jacob Fischler]
Economic development & housing
An investigation by Harvest Public Media and the Midwest Newsroom has found that the SNAP-Ed program, the educational arm of the national food stamp program, severely underpays its Midwestern workers at less than $14/hour. Many workers experience food insecurities themselves or have to rely on secondary employment. [Harvest Public Media/Dana Cronin]
A team of Kansas City attorneys has sued a collective of foundations that receive funding through court costs, targeting court fees that oftentimes are attached to a defendant’s sentence and trapping individuals in a cycle of court-sanctioned debtor’s prison. The lawsuit follows a 2021 decision, where the Missouri Supreme Court found that a $3 fee charged to defendants for a rural sheriffs retirement fund was unconstitutional. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tony Messenger]
Further reading
The Mayor of St. Louis is calling for a $40 million investment in traffic-calming measures for City streets following the deaths of 11 pedestrians and 2 cyclists this year. Typical funding arrangements allowed for the individual aldermen to implement traffic calming measures, but the fractured approach has left many neighborhoods without resources to address vehicle-related deaths & accidents. [Riverfront Times/Tishaura O. Jones]
A federal appeals court has struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, directing a lower court to determine the legality of the immigration program. An estimated 600,000 persons will be impacted by the Texas decision, although current participants are allowed to remain in the program. [Missouri Independent/Ariana Figueroa]
A structure was set on fire and headstones were knocked over at the historic Greenwood Cemetary, one of the oldest Black cemeteries in the state. The cemetery is maintained by volunteers who have been working to restore the sacred historical site since 2015. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Daniel Neman]
Despite a 40%+ increase in Missouri’s Latino population, the state has lacked a functional governor-appointed commission assigned to address issues impacting Latino and Hispanic Missourians. While St. Louis City and Kansas City maintain their own Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, state records show that the statewide Commission of Hispanic Affairs has not met since 2008. [KBIA/Kassidy Arena]
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 free using their library cards.
“Frustration grows as oversight board still blocked from probing St. Louis jail deaths,” by Taylor Tiamoyo Harris, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Both sides agreed on rehabilitation for St. Louis boy charged with murder. The state said no,” by Katie Kull, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“‘People get creative’: St. Louis jail officials address deaths, overdoses, and more,” by Taylor Tiamoyo Harris, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
BB 26 and BB 29, sponsored by Ald. Megan Green (Ward 15), 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 bills were assigned to the Neighborhood Development Committee on May 13 and have made no further movement since.
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.
Resolution 113, also sponsored by Alds. Boyd and Howard, would raise SLMPD’s pay rates to match the pay rates of St. Louis County Police Department and would allow new perks to police officers not given to other City employees. A hearing on the resolution has been scheduled for Oct. 12, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.
Quote of the Week
For me, one day would be too long. Keep in mind, I’ve had open heart surgery. I take pills for my heart…it just seems like, that in the process to make sure that people we have housed there, that they’re getting proper medical care…14 days seems long.
Alderman Joe Vaccaro (D-Ward 23) speaking to Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah about the length of time the City Jail takes to “verify” a detainee’s medical condition