Scheduled next week in Daviess County Circuit Court is a hearing on a writ of habeas corpus, a case which originated in Jackson County in 2015.
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In March 2015, Plaintiff Ricky L. Kidd filed a writ of habeas corpus in Jackson County. A writ of habeas corpus is an extraordinary remedy because it gives a court the power to release a prisoner after the prisoner has been processed through the criminal justice system with all its procedural safeguards and appeals.
Kidd is presently serving life without the possibility of parole, and has been struggling to prove his innocence since he first became a suspect in the case 19 years ago. He was convicted in 1997 of two counts of first degree murder in a Kansas City double homicide.
Kidd’s petition claims that there is no physical evidence that linked him to the crime, and names three subjects that he claims to be the perpetrators of the crime.
The case is drawing attention on a very broad basis. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) out of New York has inquired and is planning to attend the four-day session which will be conducted in Daviess County Circuit Court from April 23-26 with Judge Daren L. Adkins presiding.
According to the Midwest Innocence Project website, Kidd has spent the last 20 years fighting to prove his innocence from inside prison walls. The Midwest Innocence Project, along with co-counsel Sean O’Brien and Cindy Dodge, now represent Ricky Kidd in the case which will be heard in Daviess County.
The case is actually a DeKalb County case, as Kidd is currently incarcerated in the Crossroads Correctional Center located in DeKalb County. Kidd petitioned in April 2018 to add Ronda Pash, warden of Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, as an additional party in the cause.
The case was first assigned to Judge Thomas Chapman, but when Judge Chapman received an appointment to the Missouri Court of Appeals in August 2018, the case was reassigned to Judge Adkins in November 2018.
The case has traveled through the court system extensively. Barring appeal, however, Judge Adkins will have the final decision on whether Kidd will remain incarcerated or be freed.
If you’re interested in reading more about the case, check this website: https://themip.org/clients/ricky-kidd/