KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The KCMO City Council honored a man at its Thursday meeting who spent more than four decades in prison for a crime he did not commit.
KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas declared June 7 as "Kevin Strickland Day" in Kansas City, Missouri.
Lucas told Strickland, who stood beside the mayor at the podium at the front of the council chamber, that people were touched by his story.
He was convicted in a triple murder in 1978 in KCMO.
Despite years of legal battles, Strickland remained in prison.
A judge overturned Strickland's conviction on Nov. 23, 2021, and Strickland was released from prison that day.
Lucas told Strickland people are proud and thankful that Strickland was able to receive justice.
Strickland said he was grateful to be out , but wanted people to remember other people who were wrongly convicted and spent years in prison.
He mentioned Ricky Kidd, Ryan Ferguson and several others.
Strickland also suggested name of his day be changed to Conscious Awareness Day to keep in mind those still in prison and are fighting for their freedom.
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