KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is again attempting to delay a hearing to review the murder convictions of Kevin Strickland.
On Wednesday, Schmitt’s office filed an emergency motion asking a Jackson County Circuit Court judge to cancel a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
In that hearing, Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker plans to argue that Strickland, serving time for a triple murder connection from 1979, should have his conviction vacated.
The hearing stems from a motion Peters Baker made on Aug. 28 after a new state law took effect giving inmates who believe they were wrongfully convicted another path to argue their case.
In response to Baker’s Aug. 28 filing, Schmitt, who has maintained that Strickland is guilty, filed a handful of motions seeking to delay Thursday’s hearing.
On Tuesday, a Jackson County judge ruled that Schmitt did not have standing to make the requests, clearing the way for the Thursday hearing.
The judge has not yet made a ruling on Schmitt’s latest filing.
The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office did not have immediate comment to Schmitt's filing.
However, a spokesperson said they expect a judge to make a ruling on the motion on Wednesday.
