The St. Louis Observer: October 1, 2021
The #SaveErnestJohnson Edition; State Democrat Party federally charged with labor violations; HBCUs forgive student loan debt; City announces plan to address racial disparities in policing
Editor’s Note
This week, our Editor’s Note and Take Action section merge into one ask: help us #SaveErnestJohnson.
Ernest Johnson, a man with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on Missouri’s death row, is scheduled to be executed in 4 days, on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, in Bonne Terre, Missouri. A 2002 U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that executing a person with intellectual and developmental disabilities (or “IDD”) was unconstitutional and further determined that executing a person with IDD violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Hope for Ernest is not yet lost -- please take two minutes of your day to call Governor Parson’s office at 573-751-3222 and demand clemency for Ernest and a commutation to a life sentence. Below is a sample script from Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, who have been leading efforts to #SaveErnestJohnson:
Sample Script: “Hi, my name is _____ and I live in [city and zip code]. I am calling today to ask that Governor Parson grant clemency to Ernest Lee Johnson, who is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 5th, 2021. As a person with an intellectual disability, Ernest should not be eligible for execution. Please stop this execution, grant Ernest clemency, and commute his sentence to life.”
Read more about Ernest’s case for clemency here:
Cruel and Unusual: From the Noose to the Needle by Nimrod Chapel
The State of Missouri is Dead Set on Killing Ernest Johnson by Elyse Max
Ernest Lee Johnson planned Execution raises questions about Intellectual Disability by Laura Schopp
Parson touts progress on clemency petition backlog amidst pleas to halt Ernest Johnson's execution - The Missouri Times
Supporters present petition against the execution of Ernest Johnson to Gov. Parson - KOMU News
Faith Leaders Urge Parson to call of execution of intellectually disabled man - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Thousands call on Gov Parson to grant clemency to Ernest Johnson - KRCGTV
In the News
Missouri legal system back in spotlight as execution date for Ernest Johnson draws near
Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden has called on current Governor Mike Parson to grant clemency for Ernest Johnson, a man with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who is scheduled for execution in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Mr. Johnson is not eligible for execution under U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, and the Missouri Supreme Court currently is evaluating Mr. Johnson’s case and IDD condition. [Missouri Independent/Bob Holden]
Governor Mike Parson issued a press statement touting his approval of 181 clemency applications, with more than 2,300 still pending with his office. Parson’s publicity stunt comes in the midst of several high-profile wrongful conviction cases in Missouri, including the cases of Kevin Strickland and Lamar Johnson. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Jack Suntrup]
Recent reports show Missouri may not be safe for children
A recent federal report found that the Missouri Department of Social Services has routinely failed to protect children in the state’s foster care system, “losing” children and further failing to provide medical or mental health treatment. Nearly 35% of all children in Missouri’s foster care system are Black, Latine, indigenous, biracial, or an “unknown” race or ethnicity. [The Missouri Times/Kaitlyn Schallhorn]
More than 80% of Missouri children have some levels of lead in their blood, at a rate greater than nearly every other state in the U.S, with an estimated 4.5% having “elevated levels.” A recent study cited limited funding to remediating lead pipes, paint, and other consumer products, as well as older housing and high concentrations of poverty, as causes for increased lead exposure. [Missouri Independent/Allison Kite]
St. Louis City attorneys defend excessive police legal fees, civil rights violations
St. Louis City’s recently-appointed City Counselor Sheena Hamilton already faces one of her first big challenges: the City’s confounding quest to collect more than $50,000 in legal fees from protester Kristine Hendrix. Hendrix previously sued the City for police brutality and won damages from two of the three named SLMPD officers in her suit. Hamilton inherited the case from former City Counselor Julian Bush, who has been accused of using bullying tactics and abusing the legal system to protect police officers who admitted to violating Hendrix’s civil rights. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tony Messenger; St. Louis Public Radio x Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
Operating with less than half of its staff capacity, the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney’s Office continues to struggle with guaranteeing timely trials, showing up to hearings, producing discovery, and securing convictions for violent crimes in St. Louis. Former staff members who have left the Circuit Attorney’s Office have cited a lack of leadership, management skills, and a centralized vision as causes for the dysfunction and distrust in the office. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Janelle O’Dea, Joel Currier]
Springfield residents sue over chemical pollution; Ameren seeks to raise consumer costs
A group of Springfield residents has filed a federal lawsuit against Northrop Grumman, an aerospace and defense corporation, for knowingly polluting their local water source with carcinogenic materials. Residents allege in their suit that Northrop failed to notify them of the contamination, but instead found out through a tourist attraction north of Springfield, showing the spread of the chemical through the public water system there. [Missouri Independent/Allison Kite]
Ameren Missouri is seeking state approval to raise consumer costs in early 2022, claiming that additional funding is needed to upgrade the electric grid and “investments in clean energy.” In the wake of the corporation’s demand on consumers in the midst of a global pandemic, Ameren Electric’s CEO Warner Baxter enjoyed a 3% pay increase in 2020, boosting his salary to more than $10 million and receiving more than $1.6 million in bonuses and stock options. [St. Louis Public Radio/Shahla Farzan]
Further reading
More than 95,000 Missourians have felony convictions that bar them from voting, but a Kansas City-area organization, Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity has launched an initiative to raise awareness of voting rights for people who formerly were incarcerated. Locally, St. Louis-area efforts have been led by the Second Chance Freedom Foundation, informing and raising awareness on voting rights, anti-recidivism programs, and community-building around civil rights issues. [Missouri Independent/Celisa Calacal; Kansas City Beacon/Celisa Calacal]
St. Louis City public safety officials have pledged to address racial inequities in policing as part of Mayor Tishaura Jones’ initiative to transform civilian relations with SLMPD. In one of three town hall meetings aimed at addressing racism in local policing, City officials announced that they will actively work to eliminate racially-motivated vehicle and pedestrian stops, to improve community relations with first responders, and to increase law enforcement training in interacting with individuals experiencing mental health crises. [St. Louis Public Radio/Chad Davis]
Boone County held a public testimony hearing on the removal of two murals inside of the county courthouse, one depicting an attempted lynching of a Black man and the other showing an “Indian fight.” The murals were painted in the mid-1990s, and Boone County Circuit Court Judge Gary Oxenhandler has called the murals “threatening,” based on their placement inside of the courthouse. [Columbia Tribune/Charles Dunlap]
As St. Louis City transitions away from policing and toward addressing the root causes of crime, the need for mental health wrap-around services for Black residents and people of color has drastically increased. Citing “disproportionate impacts from the pandemic, racial tensions across the nation,” and ongoing traumas spanning from childhood through adulthood, mental health advocates are calling for community-supported safety nets to “help lift the burdens of poverty,” including services for food security, housing, counseling and therapy, and more. [St. Louis American/Michelle Tucker]
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Missouri have utilized federal COVID-19 relief funds to clear pandemic-related student debts, nearly $2 million in student balances. Black college students graduate with an average of $52,000 in student loan debt compared to around $25,000 for white students, and the student loan debt cancellation for HBCUs was included across the three federal stimulus packages passed by Congress. [Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a federal labor violation charge against the Missouri Democratic Party (MDP) for engaging in unfair and anti-worker labor practices. The NLRB issued its complaint after the MDP fired unionized staff members and their key organizer, keeping non-union staff employed and then hiring MDP loyalists to replace the unionized staff. Settlement discussions between the NLRB and MDP collapsed after the MDP demanded a “non-admission of guilt” clause. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Jack Suntrup]
Low wages and demanding work have driven hundreds of direct-support professionals who provide care for Missourians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With hourly wages averaging around $11.67 per hour, one in four direct-support workers falls below the federal poverty line and more than half of the workers within the field depend upon government support to make ends meet. Disability and labor rights activists have been calling attention to the low wages, poor benefits, limited training, and lack of career advancement for years, with little to no response from state or federal governments.[St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Colleen Schrappen]
Quote of the Week
[Ernest Johnson] is not an innocent man, but as a society we have determined that killing those who lack the intellectual ability to conform their behavior to the law is wrong from a moral and legal standpoint. Our laws do not give people like Johnson a pass for their conduct, but shield them from the ultimate punishment because of their intellectual disabilities.
The execution of Ernest Johnson serves to highlight the state’s attitude towards those with disabilities, especially the poor and people of color.
Elyse Max, Executive Director of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, in “The state of Missouri is dead set on killing Ernest Johnson.”
Legislative & Legal Update
City of St. Louis
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has reconvened for the 2021-2022 session. Abolition-related legislative updates will be included here.
State of Missouri
The Missouri State Legislature is on recess until January 2022.