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The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is discussing several bills that would affect traffic throughout the region.

Ballpark Village is celebrating the opening of its new 'Koibito Poke' eatery with an autograph signing from retired Cardinals baseball pitcher Todd Stottlemyre.

Laumeier Sculpture Park’s 2023 Visiting Artists in Residence are Pittsburgh-based artists Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis. This collaborative duo utilizes innovative approaches to conceptualism and minimalism to realize their […]

The post A Number of Tragedies appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

When Mighty Pines multi-instrumentalist Gerard Erker first heard about some drama at St. Louis community radio station KDHX, he knew he wanted to stay out of it. He’d let them figure out their issues, he thought. He cringed but thought something similar even when he heard the station had axed longtime DJ Tom “Papa” Ray.

As Missouri lawmakers prepare for the 2024 legislative session, they should consider how many of their major 2023 accomplishments received limited public attention. The 2023 legislative session focused on divisive issues like restricting transgender medical procedures for minors and restricting students from participating on school sports teams designated for a sex different than the student’s […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: The legacy of Missouri’s 2023 legislative session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA, Kansas — Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody has resigned, less than two months after he instigated a widely covered raid on a local newspaper that culminated in a federal lawsuit and one woman’s death. Marion Mayor David Mayfield announced Cody’s departure during a Monday city council meeting, following the previous week’s announcement that Cody […]

The post Kansas police chief resigns after body cam footage shows him rifling through records about himself appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I love beer. When I say that, I don't mean I love a specific beer, or that I'm devoted to a particular brand or style.

The homeless encampment on the St. Louis City Hall lawn that was growing is now gone Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, a major homeless advocate is set to speak out later.

ST LOUIS— Recently retired Missouri Supreme Court Judge George Draper III has been named to a newly created job of “chief training officer” in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, promising to share the experience he gained from serving on the bench and as a prosecutor. He will start on Oct. 23, with an annual salary […]

The post Retired Missouri Supreme Court judge joins staff of St. Louis circuit attorney appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Located in the Private Residences inside one of St. Louis’ most historic hotels, the property boasts fantastic views of Forest Park.

ALTON - Alton Main Street and Jacoby Arts Center are partnering to present First Fridays, a late night art and shopping experience which spans 14 locations across the Downtown Alton district. This event will be held on the First Friday of October, November and December 2023, providing you with an opportunity to check out new shops and galleries and visit familiar favorites to experience art and great specials at each business. Participants are offering a variety of discounts, refreshments, and giveaways. Everyone who has their passport stamped at a minimum of 10 locations will receive a $10 gift certificate to any participating business. Free parking is available in the lot next to Jacoby Arts Center, located at 627 E. Broadway, and a free shuttle bus will be provided from 5:00-9:00 p.m., running a continuous loop between all participating locations. On Friday, October 6 th , start your evening by picking up your First Fridays passport at Jacoby Arts Center. There you will receive

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CHICAGO – An Illinois iLottery player has hit gold - winning a jackpot worth over $392,000 playing Fast Play Twenty 20s . The lucky online player won the big jackpot on October 2. Twenty 20s is an Illinois Lottery progressive jackpot Fast Play game. The jackpot begins at $50,000 and grows with each ticket sold - in-store and online - statewide until the jackpot is won. Since the start of the month, almost 10,000 winning tickets for the Twenty 20s game have been purchased, netting Illinois Lottery players prizes of more than $800,000. In September, another lucky iLottery player won over $450,000 by striking the jackpot on a Fast Play Twenty 20s game. Fast Play is a quick and easy draw game that can be played at any time. There are no numbers to pick, no play slip to complete, no scratching, and no waiting for winning numbers. There are currently 20 Fast Play games offered at various price points and play styles. You could be next! Fast Play games can be purchased in retail,

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WOOD RIVER - The Sports Barn development close to I-255 and Illinois Route 143 continues to get closer to reality. Today, featured are extraordinary overhead views of the construction site by 618 Drone Service. The new facility will be a 37,500-square-foot structure and provide batting cages, pitching development, a turf infield, and much more inside the facility for training baseball and softball players. Now, baseball and softball players will be able to train locally at a state-of-the-art facility in Wood River, which is near Edwardsville, Alton, Roxana, Bethalto, East Alton, and all the neighboring cities. Wood River Mayor Tom Stalcup has said that the Illinois Gators and Gators Baseball Academy - a baseball and softball club for ages 6 to 18 - will be the prime occupants of the new facility. “The Sports Barn has a present location in Wentzville, Missouri,” Stalcup said previously. “The Gators are trying to expand their market and feel they have

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by Richard A. Webster, Verite News

This article was produced for Verite News by Richard A. Webster, who covered Jefferson Parish as part of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in 2021-22. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

In September, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a ruling that appeared to be a major blow to criminal justice reformers seeking to shrink the state’s bloated prison population.

The 4-3 ruling struck down a law that empowered prosecutors to revisit and reduce excessive sentences through post-conviction plea agreements with defense attorneys. The law, which passed the state Legislature unanimously in 2021 and had the backing of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, was meant to create a formal process to release prisoners serving decadeslong sentences, in many cases for relatively minor crimes, handed down under the state’s habitual offender, or “three strikes,” law.

Verite News and ProPublica recently featured the story of Markus Lanieux, who might have been helped by that law. Lanieux was convicted in 2009 of aggravated flight from an officer, a crime that typically carried a two-year sentence. But two previous drug felonies allowed the Jefferson Parish district attorney to try Lanieux as a habitual offender, which resulted in a sentence of life without parole. If Lanieux had been originally convicted under current habitual offender sentencing laws, the most he could have gotten was four years.

The Supreme Court’s ruling came as the result of a legal challenge filed last year by Louisiana’s conservative attorney general, Jeff Landry, who claimed the law encroached on and usurped the exclusive power of the governor to grant clemency or pardons. Landry intervened in the case of William Lee, whose life sentence had been reduced using the now-overturned law.

His legal challenge was seen as part of a growing backlash across the country against prosecutors who have pushed to end mass incarceration, and it caused many district attorneys in Louisiana to temporarily drop negotiations to reduce excessive sentences while the case was pending.

Immediately after the court announced its decision, Landry, who is running for governor on a tough-on-crime platform, hailed it as a victory for public safety.

“This unconstitutional legislation resulted in some rapists and murderers receiving ‘get out of jail free’ cards,” Landry said. “That recklessness ends now.”

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a dissenting opinion, state Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer criticized Landry’s challenge and warned that the majority’s decision could “have the disastrous effect of undermining, and further limiting, the post-conviction relief procedure that has operated to correct the evils of the past.”

“The post-conviction legislation at issue here was unanimously enacted by the legislature, the people’s representatives, and signed into law by the governor,” Weimer wrote. “Its obvious purpose is to insure justice is done and to act as a counter balance or check on the renegade practices and prejudices of the past.”

News of the ruling quickly spread throughout the state’s prisons, said attorney Nick Trenticosta, who argued on behalf of the law before the Supreme Court and visited several inmates at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel the following week.

“It’s on every prisoner’s mind,” he said. “My clients are now in distress.”

“It’s Not Fine, but It Will Be OK”

Trenticosta, however, was in the prison to tell them not to worry, that far from dealing a death blow to post-conviction resentencing efforts, the attorney general might have inadvertently given them new life.

In their decision, the justices said the new law was unconstitutional because it didn’t require prosecutors or judges to identify a specific legal problem with a prisoner’s sentence before granting relief. The ability to adjust a sentence without a specific legal basis, they said, amounted to an “act of grace,” like a pardon, which is considered the domain of the governor.

If the decision had stopped there, it could have been extremely damaging, Trenticosta said. But the justices went on to uphold the “absolute discretion” of prosecutors to provide such post-conviction relief, emphasizing it was the duty of prosecutors to “see that no innocent man suffers.”

According to Trenticosta, the decision affirmed, for the first time explicitly, the right of prosecutors and defense attorneys to cooperatively reach post-conviction deals. Three other defense attorneys with extensive experience in post-conviction deals generally agreed with Trenticosta’s analysis of the ruling’s language, though one of them was concerned about its real-world consequences.

Before the passage of the 2021 reform law, it was common practice for defense attorneys and prosecutors to meet informally to discuss the reduction of someone’s sentence. If both sides came to an agreement, they would take the plea deal to a judge to authorize, which avoided costly and timely litigation. There wasn’t, however, a court- or Legislature-approved structure to this process, which caused concern among some judges, Colin Reingold with a New Orleans-based criminal justice reform group called the Promise of Justice Initiative and three other defense attorneys told Verite News.

While one court where these deals happened frequently might have been comfortable authorizing them, others in places where such deals were rare might have balked. This resulted in an unequal administration of justice across the state, said the defense attorneys.

In its ruling, the court spelled out the eight grounds on which district attorneys could reduce someone’s sentence through post-conviction plea agreements. Some of those are fairly narrow, including whether the sentence amounted to double jeopardy or the requirement that DNA testing provides “clear and convincing evidence” of innocence. Others are more general and create a wider lane through which an attorney could argue for someone’s freedom, such as proof that “the conviction was obtained in violation of the constitution of the United States or the state of Louisiana.”

Importantly, the justices added, when defense attorneys assert one of those grounds in seeking a sentence reduction, prosecutors have no obligation to demand evidence.

“If a defendant seeks post-conviction relief pursuant to one of these grounds, a district attorney is not required by this decision to oppose the application.”

Jee Park, executive director of the Innocence Project New Orleans, said she worries that the ruling could create obstacles to negotiating lesser terms, possibly driving judges to demand more evidence than previously required to prove a reduction in sentence is legally necessary.

But she agreed that it wasn’t the end of post-conviction relief. “It’s not fine, but it will be OK,” Park said. “There are definitely still claims available to attack unjust and excessive sentences.”

For people like Lanieux, this comes as welcome news. Lanieux’s attorney, Amy Myers, was in negotiations with the Jefferson Parish district attorney to reduce his sentence under the now-overturned law when Landry filed his challenge. The district attorney, like many prosecutors across the state, temporarily halted those negotiations pending a decision.

Amy Myers (Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublic and Verite News)

Myers said the ruling reaffirmed arguments she had previously been making: that Lanieux’s sentence is unconstitutional because he had an ineffective lawyer, and that his sentence is cruel and unusual. Both are included in the eight grounds listed by the court.

“Markus has always had good legal issues,” Myers said. “If we have a district attorney who is willing to consider the merits of those legal issues, we can resolve Markus’ case.”

In an emailed statement, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Lanieux, said it was “not inclined to further comment as to Mr. Lanieux’s case at this time.”

During his 14 years of incarceration, the Iberville Parish native lost his mother in 2020 to COVID-19 and his sister last year to unknown causes. And on Sept. 7, the day before the news organizations published a story on his life sentence, Lanieux’s son was found dead in his cell at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport. Evidence relating to his death was inadvertently given to a funeral home, Verite News reported.

Markus Lanieux mourns with family members at the viewing of Markus Lanieux Jr., who died in prison. (Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublic and Verite News)

Lee, the prisoner whose case was the subject of Landry’s challenge, also maintains hope following the court’s decision, said his attorney, Trenticosta. When the Supreme Court ruled in the attorney general’s favor, St. Tammany Parish prosecutors reinstated Lee’s life sentence. Warren Montgomery, the district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes, was not available to comment because of medical reasons, according to his office.

Despite the setback, Trenticosta expects to restart negotiations with the district attorney under the parameters established by the court. He said Lee’s case could fit under a number of them, including ineffective counsel, the unconstitutional withholding of evidence or a claim of innocence based on new evidence.

“Warren Montgomery believed that the new evidence shook the integrity of the conviction, and I don’t think anything has changed,” he said. “I fully predict that Mr. Lee will come home in the near future.”

Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett just launched his Genesis Revisited: Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights tour in North America, which sees him playing Genesis’ 1972 classic album, Foxtrot, in its entirety, as well as some of his…

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"This was home, and they took it from us, and that's wrong," one member of the encampment said.

The American Legislative Exchange Council is where corporations and far-right groups go to buy government policy.

EAST ST. LOUIS – Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) announce the arrest of 27-year-old Terrell Amerson of Belleville, IL for First Degree Murder (Class M Felony), three counts of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by Felon (Class 2 Felony), and Unlawful Possession of Firearm Ammunition by Felon (Class 2 Felony). On October 1, 2023, ISP DCI PSEG was requested by the East St. Louis Police Department to conduct a death investigation in East St. Louis, IL. A male, later identified as 27-year-old Dayman Warren Jr. of Granite City, IL, was shot in the 900 block of St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis. Warren Jr. was pronounced deceased at a St. Louis area hospital. Preliminary evidence led officers to take Amerson into custody that same day. On October 3, 2023, after a thorough investigation, the case was presented to the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office and charges were approved. Amerson is being held a

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