Joshua Kezer files lawsuit against Scott County, former sheriff, former deputy

In a civil rights lawsuit filed Monday against Scott County and former members of county law enforcement, including a former sheriff, attorneys for Joshua C. Kezer are seeking both compensation and punitive damages associated with his wrongful arrest and 1994 conviction in the murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless.

Kezer, now 34, was exonerated of the crime in February based on a Cole County Circuit Court ruling that key evidence in the case not only was shielded from the defense but that newly discovered information was significant enough to cast doubt that the jury reached the correct verdict.

In the 41-page federal lawsuit, attorneys for Bryan Cave LLP of St. Louis are seeking relief for Kezer on the claims his arrest was supported by false and unreliable evidence and that the defendants named in the case excluded material evidence.

In addition to Scott County itself, former Scott County sheriff Bill Ferrell and former deputy Brenda Schiwitz were named in the suit for their roles in the investigation.

Because of the concealed evidence, Kezer suffered "grievous and permanent injury, which includes, counting more than 16 months awaiting trial, nearly 16 years of incarceration and the attendant humiliation, loss of freedom, companionship, family, educational opportunity, and income, damage to his personal reputation, the infliction of mental and physical pain and suffering, the fear of bodily harm and death, and the anguish and despair caused by being incarcerated with a 60-year-sentence for a crime he did not commit," the lawsuit said.

Among the evidence Kezer's attorneys, Charles Weiss and Stephen Snodgrass, argued was suppressed in the case were notebooks Schiwitz kept during the investigation containing information about other suspects and a report of a Scott City police officer that challenged the credibility of an eyewitness who placed Kezer near the crime scene after giving multiple versions of what he saw Nov. 8, 1992, when Lawless was killed.

The omissions were done in bad faith and constituted callous indifference to Kezer's federally protected rights, the suit alleged.

Calls made to Schiwitz and Ferrell's process service business were not returned Tuesday.

Weiss declined to comment on reasons why Kenny Hulshof, who tried the case as a special prosecutor for the attorney general's office, wasn't named in the lawsuit.

Both Hulshof and former Scott County prosecutor Christy Baker-Neal have told the Southeast Missourian in previous interviews they didn't know about the existence of the potentially exculpatory police report.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Blanton was assigned to the case but recused himself Tuesday afternoon. Blanton declined to comment on his reasons for the recusal because the lawsuit was a pending case.

The lawsuit didn't surprise current Scott County officials Tuesday, who said they had been expecting one to be filed.

"I kept hearing rumblings," said Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger.

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said he'd gotten a lot of questions from people about whether there would be a lawsuit and that it didn't come as a shock.

Scott County is protected by a liability insurance policy dating to 1991 that covers damages for just over $2.4 million per wrongful act, said Scott County Clerk Rita Milam.

The county would have to pay a deductible of about $40,000 if the lawsuit succeeds on both claims, Milam said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

Click here to download a PDF of the court filing