Amrine case under fire
Published Feb. 14, 2003
The Missouri General Assembly heard arguments from supporters to reopen the case against state death row inmate Joe Amrine last week in Jefferson City.
In 1986, Amrine was sentenced to death after being convicted of stabbing fellow inmate Gary Barber at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. He was already serving a 15-year sentence for robbery, burglary and forgery.
Amrine's conviction was based on the testimony of three inmates. Since the trial, all three witnesses have recanted their testimonies.
Anthony Johnson, president of the MU School of Law's American Civil Liberties Union, said there is no physical evidence against Amrine.
"A man shouldn't be executed when there is no evidence against him," Johnson said. He and other members of the ACLU want either a new trial or a full pardon for Amrine.
Missouri currently accepts the testimony of inmates for cases that involve the penalty of capital punishment.
Professor of sociology John Galliher said using prisoner testimony is bad because it is subjected to manipulation and coercion.
However, Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Crane said he disagrees with Galliher's sentiments.
"I don't know how you would exclude one witness' testimony and not another's," Crane said. "Would it be appropriate to use an inmate's testimony by the defense?"
Columbia attorney Stephen Wyse said jail house snitches are the fourth-leading cause in wrongful convictions to death row inmates. He also said accepting this testimony is dangerous because inmates are often rewarded so they will testify, even if their testimony is wrong.
Two of the inmates who testified against Amrine were victims of sexual predators in prison and were seeking transfer to another facility. The other was a suspect in the murder in which Amrine was convicted, Johnson said.
The Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether or not to reopen Amrine's case within the next six months.
"I'm not exactly sure how the Supreme Court will rule. I think the best of all rulings will require a new trial," Wyse said.
Johnson compared Missouri to Illinois, where former Gov. George Ryan recently commuted the sentences of all the death row inmates in his state due to what he called a flawed system.
"There's no reason to suspect we do a better job," Johnson said.
But Crane said the capital punishment system has enough safeguards to ensure innocent people are not executed.
"It goes through years and years of scrutiny by state courts and federal courts, and that's all after a judge and a jury have decided whether or not death is appropriate," Crane said.