Court throws out convictions in 2003 Kansas City killing

KANSAS CITY (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has thrown out the convictions of a Kansas City man who has
spent 16 years in prison for a slaying that he and others contend he did not commit.

Carnes' attorneys petitioned the high court in January for his release based in part on witnesses recanting their
statements, but also on a Jan. 18 report by a special master who reviewed the case finding that Kansas City police
did not give Carnes’ original defense team a report from a confidential informant that might have led to his exoneration.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt fought the effort, arguing that Carnes' argument that the police report was
withheld is “without merit" and that Carnes did not meet the legal requirements of providing new reliable evidence
that would prompt jurors not to convict him.

Schmidt’s efforts to keep a man in prison despite evidence of innocence mirrors his response in a similar case last year.
Schmidt, a Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate, fought to keep Kevin Strickland in prison after Jackson
County prosecutors filed a motion seeking his release, saying that evidence showed Strickland had served more than
40 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit. Strickland was exonerated and released from prison in November.

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