Bailey, who was appointed attorney general … has a history of opposing overturning convictions, even when local prosecutors cite evidence of actual innocence.
In 2023, Bailey’s office argued against then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s effort to overturn the murder conviction of Lamar Johnson, who was imprisoned 28 years. A St. Louis judge sided with Johnson, who was freed.
Bailey’s office also argued in court in May against freeing Christopher Dunn, who has spent 33 years in prison for a 1990 killing that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore determined that Dunn probably didn’t commit. A judge is still deciding that case.
And Bailey is opposing St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s effort to set aside the murder conviction of Marcellus Williams. A hearing is Aug. 21 — just a month before Williams is scheduled to be executed. Testing unavailable at the time of the 1998 stabbing death found another person’s DNA on the knife, but not Williams’.
I would love to hear his justification for all of these. Is it just the for-profit prison money, or the pride of not being wrong?