Missouri
Bipartisan effort in Missouri legislature seeks to end death penalty
There are 32 attorneys, investigators and specialists in the Missouri State Public Defender Office dedicated to preventing the wrongful execution of innocent people on death row.
The agency spends almost $3 million each year on salaries for these personnel, said Matthew Crowell, director of Missouri’s public defender system.
“We’re also using 16 of my best and most experienced attorneys to handle 11 cases out of 90,000,” Crowell said.
Guards, parole officers and other corrections staff also spend years of their working lives alongside Missourians who are sentenced to death — supervising them in the visiting room and locking them up for bad behavior.
And these staff “are still watching the state take the life of that person,” said Dr. Heidi Moore, executive director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty and a former institutional parole officer in Potosi Correctional Center.
As Missouri lawmakers this week once again consider a bill that would abolish the death penalty, religious leaders, advocates and a former lawmaker urged them to heed the financial and human costs of capital punishment in the state.
The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jim Murphy of St. Louis County, would mandate a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for people convicted of first-degree murder or other serious crimes. It would not alter the sentences of Missourians already on death row.
Lawmakers have sponsored similar bills in each of the past five years. Murphy’s bill did not get a committee hearing last year.
Since 1973, at least 202 people nationwide have been exonerated after being sentenced to death, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In Missouri, four people have been acquitted or had their charges dropped after receiving the death sentence since 1999.
“The state, frankly, makes mistakes,” Murphy told reporters.
But it was the experience of a victim’s family that led Murphy to change his position on the death penalty, he said.
During his first run for office eight years ago, he spoke with a man who witnessed the killing of his parents in their house as a child.
The man opposed the death penalty because the mandatory appeals process for capital sentences delayed closure for him and his family, Murphy said. Missouri law requires the state Supreme Court to review all death sentences, giving the court the choice of affirming the trial court’s sentence, re-sentencing or remanding the case to the lower court.
“The next 15 years, over and over and over again, he and his family were dragged back to court, appeal after appeal after appeal,” Murphy said.
The man told Murphy the state should do away with the death penalty.
“We can’t continue to relive this,” he told Murphy.
Financial and human costs
Two religious leaders testified in support of the bill, citing the sanctity of life and urging against irreversible punishment.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski of the Archdiocese of St. Louis described the death penalty as “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the human person” and quoted Pope John Paul II, who during a 1999 trip to St. Louis urged the abolition of the death penalty and called on people to be “unconditionally pro-life.”
The death penalty, Rozanski said, also “deprives the offender of the opportunity of redemption.”
Advocates and members of the legal team for Lance Shockley — a man who was convicted in 2009 of murdering a Missouri State Highway patrolman, insisted on his innocence and was executed in October — argued last year that his work as a mentor to fellow inmates in Potosi should have qualified him to continue that role while incarcerated.
Republican state Rep. Barry Hovis of Whitewater said he was concerned that there would be no possibility of meaningful consequences for people sentenced to life without parole who might kill a fellow incarcerated person or guard.
“They’re not going to be able to get to double life without parole,” Hovis said.
Clifton Davis, representing Missouri Justice Coalition, told committee members that while he was an inmate in the state’s Department of Corrections, most of the men he met who had received death sentences were housed in the honor dorm as a reward for good behavior.
“Yes, men on death row violated the rules, like all of us violate the rules, but I don’t know a single case of a man on death row killing anyone,” Davis said. “I do know individuals who were not on death row that have killed other offenders while they were serving sentences that were parolable.”
The Rev. Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister from Jefferson City, encouraged lawmakers to “do what’s best for the state.”
“What is actually justice?” Kaylor asked. “What is actually fiscally responsible? What is actually going to work?”
Crowell, of the state public defender’s office, told lawmakers that abolishing the death penalty would allow his agency to devote more resources to other cases and services that could keep people out of the criminal justice system.
“I’d be able to reassign the capital attorneys and staff to our many non-death penalty clients throughout the state and to recidivism-reducing programs,” Crowell said. “… Missourians would get far more value for their dollar.”
But Republican state Rep. Jim Kalberloh of Lowry City said victims’ families should be able to express to prosecutors if they want to pursue the death penalty.
While that’s ultimately the prosecutor’s choice, Crowell said, prosecutors often look to families’ wishes for guidance.
“That’s the way it should be,” Kalberloh said. “If they don’t want [the death penalty], then we ought not to do that. If they do want it, I don’t know that I want to take that choice away.”
Davis said what he hears from supporters of the death penalty is always, “what about the victims?”
“Well,” he said, “there’s a lot of things we could do to reduce victims.”
Prospects
The bill has bipartisan support that spans both legislative chambers.
Democratic state Rep. Steve Butz of St. Louis told reporters he supports Murphy’s bill, partly because of his experience of his sister’s murder 15 years ago.
Butz’s dad told prosecutors he didn’t want to pursue the death penalty.
“He said, ‘My faith says all life is sacred, even this murderer’s life,’” Butz said.
Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Arnold told reporters that vengeance is not the same as justice. She is sponsoring a bill that would keep judges from deciding on the death penalty in cases when there is a hung jury.
“If we are a pro-life state, and I believe that we are,” Coleman said, “we need to be protecting even those who deserve it the least.”
This story was first published at missouriindependent.com.
The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from June 2 drawing
15-26-43-48-60, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 2 drawing
Midday: 6-2-1
Midday Wild: 4
Evening: 0-2-0
Evening Wild: 2
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 2 drawing
Midday: 4-9-6-4
Midday Wild: 5
Evening: 1-3-6-4
Evening Wild: 9
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 2 drawing
Early Bird: 13
Morning: 04
Matinee: 04
Prime Time: 08
Night Owl: 12
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Show Me Cash numbers from June 2 drawing
01-10-15-19-31
Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.
To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:
Ticket Redemption
Missouri Lottery
P.O. Box 7777
Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777
For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
- Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
- Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
- Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.
The date for the last matchup in the current Border War series is set.
Missouri men’s basketball will face Kansas in the Border War game on Dec. 6 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, according to a post from the Jayhawks’ official X/Twitter account Tuesday. The tipoff time and TV designation for the matchup will be released at a later date.
Kansas released its full nonconference schedule Tuesday, including the sixth and final game against Mizzou on the current competition contract.
The historic rivals have not yet signed a contract to renew the series beyond this season, according to a recent batch of competition contracts obtained by the Tribune through an open records request.
Missouri is yet to announce its nonconference schedule for the 2026-27 season, but there are three other known or reported games for this upcoming season.
Mizzou will face Howard at Mizzou Arena in the last leg of a three-game series, which will take place on a still-to-be-determined date.
The Tigers also have three more neutral-site games on their schedule. The annual Braggin’ Rights matchup against Illinois likely will fall in mid- or late- December at Enterprise Center, and Mizzou has agreed to a Nov. 15 trip to United Center in Chicago to face Marquette. Missouri also reportedly will face Saint Louis on Nov. 6 at Enterprise Center, according to Jon Rothstein at CBS Sports and College Hoops Today.
This season’s Border War matchup will include the first direct transfer between the two schools when Bryson Tiller suits up for Missouri after spending last season, his freshman year, at Kansas.
KU has won four of the five games since the series was renewed in 2021, including an 80-60 win in Kansas City last season. Missouri won the 2024-25 season matchup at Mizzou Arena, but has not beaten Kansas outside of Columbia since 2003.
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The Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested eleven people in north Missouri between May 29, 2026, and June 1, 2026. The arrests involved a variety of alleged offenses, including driving while intoxicated, felony drug possession, resisting arrest, and outstanding felony warrants. Arrests were reported in Grundy, Clinton, Caldwell, Shelby, Marion, Ralls, Monroe, Clark, and Macon counties.
It is important to note that, while all the individuals listed below have been reported as arrested, they may not have been physically transported to a detention center. Depending on the circumstances, an individual may be issued a summons, which includes a court date. When the Missouri State Highway Patrol issues a summons with a court date, it is considered an arrest, even if the individual is not physically transported to a detention center.
Diego G. Gavilanes-Tigse, 31, of Trenton, was arrested in Grundy County at 6:36 p.m. on May 29, 2026. He was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and failure to signal. Gavilanes-Tigse was held at the Grundy County Law Enforcement Center and was placed on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.
Heather S. Starchman, 37, of Kansas City, was arrested in Clinton County at 7:52 p.m. on May 29, 2026. Authorities reported she was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of a synthetic narcotic, felony tampering with evidence, felony resisting arrest, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia with a prior offense, cutting in on an overtaken vehicle, failure to yield, failure to register a motor vehicle, no insurance, no valid driver’s license, and failure to wear a seat belt. Starchman was taken to Cameron Regional Medical Center and later released.
Alcides Blazimiro Sagastume Gonzalez, 52, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, was arrested in Shelby County at 6:50 p.m. on May 29, 2026. He was charged with driving without a valid license and driving while intoxicated. He was held in Shelby County before being released.
Ernesto J. Carames Lopez, 27, of Kansas City, was arrested in Clinton County at 4:03 a.m. on May 30, 2026. Troopers reported he was wanted on a Clarke County, Iowa, felony warrant for larceny and was also charged with careless and imprudent driving resulting in an accident. He was held in Clinton County and was listed as bondable.
Mariah R. Vandervelden, 31, of Fairview Heights, Illinois, was arrested in Marion County at 2:56 p.m. on May 30, 2026. She was charged with driving while intoxicated and was held in the Marion County Jail before being released.
Chad A. Woolfolk, 46, of Hannibal, was arrested in Marion County at 3:50 p.m. on May 30, 2026. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, driving while revoked, and no insurance. Woolfolk was held in the Marion County Jail and later released.
Jo A. Kennedy, 62, of Louisiana, Missouri, was arrested in Ralls County at 5:35 p.m. on May 30, 2026. Troopers charged her with driving while intoxicated involving alcohol and failure to drive on the right half of the roadway. Kennedy was held by the Ralls County Sheriff’s Office before being released.
Ethan Z. White, 25, of Huntsville, was arrested in Monroe County at 5:40 p.m. on May 30, 2026. He was charged with felony resisting arrest, two counts of speeding 26 mph or more over the limit, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving on the left side of the roadway when the view was obstructed, driving while intoxicated involving alcohol, and consumption of alcohol while driving. White was taken to the Randolph County Jail and placed on a 24-hour hold.
Brian D. Brooks, 66, of Keokuk, Iowa, was arrested in Clark County at 9:53 p.m. on May 30, 2026. He was charged with felony driving while intoxicated as an aggravated offender, no valid license, and failure to comply with ignition interlock requirements. Brooks was held by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office on a 12-hour hold.
Justus Garway, 30, of Altoona, Iowa, was arrested in Macon County at 11:30 a.m. on May 31, 2026. He was charged with felony driving while intoxicated as an aggravated offender, failure to comply with an ignition interlock system, failure to secure a child younger than 8 years old, and speeding. Garway was held in the Macon County Jail on a 24-hour hold.
Justin L. Bittiker, 44, of Independence, was arrested in Caldwell County at 8:22 a.m. on June 1, 2026. Troopers charged him with felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, and turning from a direct course when unsafe. Bittiker was held at the Caldwell County Detention Center on a 24-hour hold.
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