Kezer to get settlement in lawsuit against Scott County, former officials

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by Joshua Kezer last year against Scott County and former county law enforcement, an attorney representing Kezer said Tuesday.

Kezer, an Illinois native, was wrongfully convicted in the 1992 murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless and spent 16 years in prison.

A member of Kezer's counsel team, Stephen Snodgrass of the Bryan Cave LLC law firm in St. Louis, said all parties have been discussing a settlement since April or May through a federal mediator.

Joshua Kezer, right, sits down with Centenary United Methodist Church senior pastor Jeff Long for a "Liberty for the Captives: A Conversation with Joshua Kezer", during Centenary's 11 a.m. service June 13. Kezer was released from prison in February 2009 after being exonerated of the 1992 murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless. (Laura Simon)

Besides Scott County, former sheriff Bill Ferrell, who directed the investigation of the Lawless murder, and former deputy Brenda Schiwitz, who also played a role in the investigation, were named in the lawsuit.

"It's still before a judge. ... At this point, we're just waiting basically for the check to clear and the case will be dismissed," Snodgrass said. "We're happy with the outcome. We're happy for Josh that he's going to be compensated for all he went through."

Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said he had no comment on the settlement.

"It hasn't been finalized," Burger said. "I haven't got the call that it has been yet."

With the lawsuit, Kezer was seeking both compensation and punitive damages because of his wrongful conviction and arrest, which were supported by unreliable evidence, including statements made by four incarcerated men who said Kezer confessed to the crime. The men later recanted their statements.

Kezer was convicted of Lawless' murder in 1994, went to prison and was exonerated in February 2009 by Richard Callahan, who at the time was Cole County circuit judge. Callahan ruled that key evidence in the case was kept from Kezer's defense attorneys during his initial trial.

Snodgrass said he didn't want to disclose the dollar amount of the settlement, although a blogger for St. Louis-area Riverfront Times reported that Charlie Weiss, another lawyer with Bryan Cave, said Kezer will be getting "several million."

"I hesitate to say because Josh hasn't made up his mind whether he wants to disclose that," Snodgrass said.

He added that it's not a structured settlement and Kezer will be getting a one-time cash payment.

Additionally, Snodgrass said he wasn't sure how the allocations will be split up between the three defendants.

"It was just one amount. There may have been some internal discussion and payments within the defendant group I don't know about, but we just got two checks," he said. "It's insurance money."

Kezer said late Tuesday he's not ready to give a statement on the settlement and would be sending out a news release soon.

Investigation continues

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said Tuesday that although the number of new cases to investigate has increased, the department continues to look for the person or people involved in the murder of 19-year-old Lawless.

Lawless was found dead in November 1992, slumped over in her vehicle on the Interstate 55 offramp, just two miles from the sheriff's office in Benton, Mo. She was shot three times and suffered a blow to the head.

Walter said he and other investigators are still interviewing people, but several contacts live out of state and have been hard to track down. Plus, he added, some of the interviews take a lot of time because the subjects need to recall information from more than 15 years ago.

"I feel pretty good that we're still moving forward. We're not completely stalled or stopped," Walter said.

Just before the March broadcast of a "48 Hours Mystery" episode on the case, Walter said they were looking at six to eight suspects.

"We've been able to eliminate a couple of those folks during the process, but still have a few we're looking at," he said.

In previous interviews this year, Walter has said they hope to make an arrest in the Lawless murder by the end of the year.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Benton, MO