[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MISSOURI

[Rick Halperin]

MISSOURI----impending execution

Richard Strong’s execution date is set for June 9, 2015, and is based on  his 
conviction in the
stabbing deaths of his girlfriend, Eva Washington and her two-year old daughter 
Zandrea Thomas.  His
capital sentence arose as a result of the work of incompetent trial counsel, as 
well as behavior
driven by mental illness and extreme childhood trauma.  He has been diagnosed 
with Major (Recurrent)
Depression,  PTSD and Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

Horrific childhood trauma:  Due to the incompetence of mitigation counsel, the 
trial jury never
learned of Strong’s horrific childhood and history of mental illness.  Richard 
Strong’s father
abandoned him soon after conception and was incarcerated when he was born. 
Richard grew up
“extremely poor, often not having anything to eat” and without basic 
necessities.  His mother lived
with a series of abusive boyfriends throughout his childhood, at 26 different 
places, most all were
“derelict apartments in violent” St. Louis neighborhoods, many of them were rat 
and roach-infested
often without electricity.

As a child, Strong experienced a turbulent environment where his mother gambled 
and sold herself to
support the family.  He also lived through a number of traumatic events.  He 
saw a friend get shot
in the back and found his best friend’s mother dead.   He and his siblings were 
also forced to
listen to their mother’s screams as she was being raped.  He and brothers were 
frequently beaten by
his mother’s many boyfriends.  A babysitter sexually abused Strong when he was 
five, as did a
stranger when he was 12.

Low intellectual functioning and mental illness:  Richard had to repeat first 
grade.  Because of his
chaotic living arrangements, he would often miss school and only graduated from 
high school with a
1.8 GPA.  An evaluation at the Potosi Correctional Center determined he has an 
IQ of 74, reads at a
3rd grade level and spells like a 2nd grader.  Other mental health specialists 
determined he suffers
from Major (Recurrent) Depression, PTSD and Schizotypal Personality Disorder 
among other conditions.

Woefully inadequate legal counsel:   Richard’s trial lawyers were paid $15,000 
to represent him, a
fraction of the cost needed for a robust fight against the death penalty.  In 
violation of the ABA
standards for representation in death penalty cases, the attorney overseeing 
the sentencing phase of
trial had just finished law school the previous year and had never tried a 
criminal case, much less
a capital case.  He had no experience with presenting a mitigation defense and 
only began
interviewing relatives as the jury was being selected.  He and the lead counsel 
chose to stress
during the sentencing trial that Strong was “a good and loving person” with a 
“faith in God.” Jurors, and his own trial attorneys, had no clue about Mr. 
Strong’s brutal childhood and
psychological issues.  It was only when post-conviction attorneys did a 
thorough investigation that
these issues came to light.

Another St. Louis County case.  Mr. Strong is the 4th African-American man set 
for execution this
year in cases coming from St. Louis County (fortunately two of those executions 
were stayed.)  The
county has been responsible for the 9th most executions of any US 
jurisdiction.  Ten of the 32
current inmates living under a death sentence is Missouri were convicted by St. 
Louis County
prosecutors.

CONTACT Gov. Jay Nixon.  Urge him to commute his death sentence.  Call 
573-751-3222; send a letter,
by mail: Rm 216, State Capitol, Jefferson City MO 65101; fax: 573-751-1495 or 
e-mail:
www.governor.mo.gov.

CONTACT Attorney General Chris Koster. Urge him to cease pushing for 
executions, including Mr.
Strong’s. Call 573-751-3321, write: PO Box 899, Jefferson City MO 652101 or 
e-mail www.ago.mo.gov.

(source: Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty)