I wasn't about to plead guilty to a crime I had absolutely nothing to do with, wasn't going to do it... at 18 years old, and I knew the system worked, so I knew that I would be vindicated, I wouldn't be found guilty of a crime I did not commit. I would not take a plea deal and admit to something I did not do.

Kevin Strickland

Kevin Strickland (born June 7, 1959) is an African-American man who was convicted by an all-white jury in 1979 of killing three people in Kansas City, Missouri, in a case where no physical evidence linked him to the scene of the crime. Strickland was imprisoned and is serving a life sentence. In 2021, he garnered national attention after former prosecutors in his case said he was innocent and called for his release.Two men who pled guilty to the murders have said Strickland was not involved, and a fingerprint from the shotgun used in the murders belonged to someone else. Cynthia Douglas, the sole eyewitness to the crime, said detectives pressured her into naming Strickland as a perpetrator. She attempted several times to recant her testimony before her death in 2015.Numerous legal and political figures have called for Strickland's exoneration. In June 2021, the Supreme Court of Missouri denied a petition to have him released. The Governor of Missouri Mike Parson refused to pardon him, saying he did not see his case as a "priority" and was not certain of his innocence. The office of the Missouri Attorney General has fought in court to keep him in prison, saying it believes him to be guilty.

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