Missouri
A jailed ex-KC cop is a problem for Mike Parson. Blaming the prosecutor won’t solve it • Missouri Independent
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson clearly doesn’t know what to do about Eric DeValkenaere, the former Kansas City police officer convicted of killing a 26-year-old Black man, Cameron Lamb.
Parson, forever a county sheriff at heart, hates the thought of a cop sitting in prison and he’s under pressure from the extended brotherhood of law enforcement to bring DeValkenaere home.
He also knows that commuting DeValkenaere’s sentence will enrage many people in Kansas City and beyond. And if Parson has studied the case — as he claims to have done — he surely knows that the facts support the second-degree manslaughter conviction that has earned DeValkenaere six years in prison.
So what is a governor to do?
Prosecutor, lawmakers urge Missouri governor not to pardon cop who killed a Black man
If you’re Mike Parson, you create a diversion. Find someone to blame. Not DeValkenaere, who rushed into Lamb’s backyard without cause or a warrant and shot Lamb as he was backing his pickup into a garage. Not the KCPD leadership of 2021, which tacitly encouraged officers to push the limits.
No. You blame Jean Peters Baker, the Jackson County prosecutor who did her job and brought the charges against DeValkenaere.
“The one thing that bothered me more than anything else was the way the prosecutor handled this in Kansas City,” Parson told radio talk show host Pete Mundo last week.
“She’s done a poor example of setting the stage and making this more of a political issue,” he went on, “when she should have been doing what’s right by the law.”
I wish Mundo had asked the governor exactly how Baker has not done right by the law, when her case has been validated by a grand jury, a circuit court judge in Jackson County and three Missouri appeals judges. He did not.
Another great question would be what Parson thinks Baker has to gain politically. Because here’s what he’s missing: No prosecutor in their right mind wants to charge a cop with anything, least of all murder.
A prosecutor’s success in bringing successful cases and getting criminals off the streets depends on a healthy working relationship with everyone from the police chief to detectives and crime scene investigators.
Why would Baker endanger that relationship? Why would she invite the wrath of the police union, the anonymous threats linked to this case and the endless condemnation of conservative talk show hosts and pundits?
There is only one answer: Because Baker swore an oath to uphold the law, and prosecuting DeValkenaere was the right thing to do.
Baker has been Jackson County’s prosecutor for 12 eventful years. In that time she successfully prosecuted a Catholic bishop for failing to report suspected child abuse by a priest and she passed on charging former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens with invasion of privacy, saying she couldn’t prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. She sent scores of people to prison for life terms when evidence showed they were guilty and she helped free Kevin Strickland from that fate after 43 years in prison because the evidence showed he was innocent.
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She prosecuted police officers for assault and other crimes, and in other cases she declined to prosecute officers even when the community was calling for her to do so. Baker has built a trove of credibility in Kansas City and Jackson County by meticulously gathering facts and applying the law without regard to race, status or position.
Facts and the rule of law matter much less to Parson and his appointed attorney general, Andrew Bailey. The only law they want applied in the DeValkenaere case is the unwritten one that says a cop in uniform can never be wrong. And so the prosecutor seeking justice in the death of a young Black man must be the one in error.
The problem for them is that, when Bailey took the preposterous step of appealing the guilty verdict handed down by a Missouri circuit court judge, another set of judges reiterated that Baker had been right. DeValkenaere broke the law when he fatally shot Lamb.
In Kansas City, which has been on edge for months about the possibility of the governor pardoning DeValkenaere or commuting his sentence, Parson’s remarks on the radio show were interpreted as a sign that he’s getting ready to do just that — free DeValkenaere and attempt to pin the inevitable fallout on Baker and her office.
But Parson said something else in that interview that makes me think that outcome is not inevitable. He said he had supported Bailey’s move to appeal the circuit court’s verdict, rather than defend it as is usually the attorney general’s role. But two of the three appeals judges who slapped down Bailey’s request to reverse the verdict were Parson’s own appointees.
“Those were some of the judges that I actually put in place,” the governor told Mundo. “I just don’t have a quick answer for you.”
Baker has announced that she’s not running for reelection and will leave office in January 2025 — the same time Parson will be moving out of the governor’s mansion. Baker can return to private life knowing that she’s done the right thing. Will Parson be able to say the same?
Missouri
Iowa vs. Missouri Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Music City Bowl
Missouri and Iowa meet in the Music City Bowl, the standalone game on December 30th bowl coverage.
Both teams ended their respective regular season with rivalry game victories in the final moments and will look for a bowl win to build momentum towards the future. In a closely lined spread, and some key players opting out, how should we bet this one?
We have you covered with our Music City Bowl betting preview below!
Spread
Moneyline
Total: 40.5 (Over -110/Under -110)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Missouri
Brady Cook: This will be Cook’s final game with the Tigers after he returned from a mid-season injury to lead the Tigers to late-season wins against the likes of Arkansas in the team’s regular-season finale. While it wasn’t as productive as the year prior, Cook put up solid numbers this season for Mizzou, passing for 2,248 yards with 14 total touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Iowa
Brendan Sullivan: The hope is that Sullivan is back from injury for this one, the team’s primary backup that showed some upside in the Hawkeyes offense in wins against Northwestern and Wisconsin. Overall, this is a run-first Iowa offense that will be without star running back Kaleb Johnson, putting more pressure on Sullivan as a runner and to create with his arm. He completed more than 68% of his passes in a limited sample this season (35 passes).
There are two notable players out in this game with NFL upside, one for each team.
For Missouri, Luther Burden opted out of this game to prepare for the NFL Draft, which is a blow to the Tigers’ offense, but not as impactful as Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, who was sixth in the country in rushing yards this season.
Johnson was a big part of the Hawkeyes offense that was 93rd in the country in EPA/Pass and 85th in overall success rate. Without the threat of the standout running back on the field, Iowa will rely solely on its defense to stay competitive in this game.
With that in mind, I’ll lay it with the small favorite in Missouri.
While the Tigers fell short of lofty goals set by a strong 2023, the team still has a versatile offense that includes a sturdy run game and a consistent unit that ranked top 50 in success rate. Further, the team can keep up with Iowa in the battle for field position as it ranks top 10 in havoc allowed and is 11th in Pro Football Focus’ special teams grade.
I question how Iowa puts up many points on the board in this one and while the under looks like a worthwhile bet, I’d rather side with the Tigers to win this game by more than a field goal.
PICK: Missouri -3
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33
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Missouri
Ex-convict pardoned by Missouri governor, wants to continue helping former prisoners get fresh start
KANSAS CITY, Mo — The new year is less than two weeks away and a community advocate is already celebrating.
Kevin Morgan, founder of Sent1One Ministries and Lean on Me Ministries, got a pardon from Missouri Gov. Mike Parson this summer.
He’s been keeping the news private to think about how he wants to make a difference.
Morgan spent nine years on supervised probation for drug crimes.
For the past 11 years, he’s been hoping to get another chance, but the journey there took a lot of work.
He had three cases involving drug possession and drug trafficking but could only pick one to be expunged.
“They said, ‘Hey, in the state of Missouri, you are only allowed one felony to be expunged a lifetime,” Morgan said. “I knew I couldn’t die come back and get another one.”
Morgan spent seven months going through the process for a pardon.
According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, “a full pardon does not remove the conviction from the individual’s criminal record. A full pardon restores all rights of citizenship and removes any disqualification or punitive collateral consequence stemming from the conviction without conditions or restrictions.”
When he received the news that a pardon was granted in the mail, Morgan immediately gave thanks.
“I just got on my knees, prayed and thanked God. I was in amazement. I told God he can have all of me,” he said.
Morgan’s life has always come down to choices.
Now, he’s chooses to continue being example for other men in the community.
“I’m not that person anymore,” Morgan said. “Whatever struggles I was dealing with then — that’s gone. I’m a new man.”
From here on, he wants to continue serving men through his ministries, work with the city on homeless initiatives and eventually create a pathway for other people to have their record expunged or pardoned.
“I can see myself in some of the people I serve so I want to get them to where I am,” he said.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including neighborhoods in Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
Missouri
Top Missouri education official hopes shrinking state budget will not hurt teacher pay
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri’s top education official is worried about funding for teacher pay as the state’s budget shrinks.
In three weeks, Jefferson City will once again be bustling with lawmakers as they decide which policies will affect the future of Missouri. With about 150 bills already filed on the topic, lawmakers are sure to discuss K-12 education at length.
The passage of an expansive education bill this year came with a big price tag — one that has people like Matt Michelson with the Missouri Teachers Association worried about funding. Gov. Mike Parson said that education bill will cost $400 million more than anticipated. It includes raises for teachers and incentives for schools to stay in session five days a week.
“We have growth in current programs, and if we’re not seeing growth in the economy, where are those cuts going to come from? We know in the past, many of those cuts have come from K-12, transportation and even the foundation formula,” Michelson said.
One of the things that new law promises is a starting salary of $40,000 for teachers. That starting salary briefly changed Missouri’s status as the lowest paying in the country, but only if the state can keep up with it.
Missouri put $4 million toward raising that teacher pay in the most recent budget, but lawmakers will have to renew that grant every year for it to continue. The state would pay for 70% of the salary while the school districts must cover the rest.
This year, several Missouri lawmakers did try to implement the teacher salary grant permanently, but it never got past committee.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger is preparing for her first state legislative session in a new position. She knows the state is facing a tighter budget next year. Small districts are only able to afford the new pay bump with the help of a state grant, but Eslinger is already thinking of sacrifices that might have to be made to protect that grant.
“If we’re not funded, I could act adequately, then obviously we’re not going to be able to do that, so other areas will probably have to be put aside or or not fully funded,” Eslinger said.
Eslinger is also focused on retaining quality teachers. In an anonymous survey conducted by the Missouri State Teachers Association, 70% of educators said they have seriously considered leaving the profession. The top reasons are stress, student behavior and lack of pay. According to the anonymous survey, a common reason for teachers to be stressed is low staffing.
“It depends on the quality of that teacher, then as far as what’s happening with the classroom and how successful the kids are,” Eslinger said. “So we’re again focusing on those pieces and hoping that we see some legislation that will help us to recruit and retain some really, really high fliers to meet the needs of our kids.”
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