Chain
06-23-2004, 08:22 PM
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0623/3453065_80X60.jpg
VIDEO at site shows the judge-
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/3450592/detail.html
Judge Paroles Murderer After 4 Months In Jail
Prosecutors Say Judge Overstepped Bounds
POSTED: 7:53 am CDT June 23, 2004
UPDATED: 6:09 pm CDT June 23, 2004
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --
Judge Paroles Murderer After 4 Months In Jail
A Jackson County judge has freed a convicted murderer after he served only four months of an 18-year sentence.
Circuit Judge Jon Gray said he released Kevin Woods (pictured, left), 28, of Kansas City, on probation last month because he wants Woods to testify against another suspect in the 1999 double homicide of Cashonda Miller, 18, and David Woods, 21, at a Kansas City motel.
SURVEY
Should a judge have released convicted murderer Kevin Woods on parole after serving only four months in jail as an incentive to testify in another trial?
I don't have a problem with the judge's decision.
Absolutely not.
I don't have an opinion.
Results | Disclaimer
Gray on Tuesday set July 6 as the date he will add conditions to the probation, which could include testifying against former co-defendant Tyrone Scott (pictured, below) of Grandview.
But prosecutors and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon say the judge has overstepped his bounds and are pushing to have Woods returned to jail.
"Maximum pressure on this guy (to testify) is a 6- by 8-foot cell, not the world to walk around in," Nixon said Tuesday.
Jackson County Prosecutor Mike Sanders echoed Nixon's reservations: "It opens a Pandora's box in Missouri. It would mean that any court at any time could release an offender."
"When the judge decided to release Mr. Woods on what he thought was grounds for judicial parole, that was not at our request," Sanders said.
The law under which Gray sentenced Woods in January didn't allow him to release the murderer after only four months. Instead, Gray said he was releasing Woods on "judicial parole."
Defense attorney Patrick Peters defended Gray's action, saying laws allow judges to grant parole in some situations.
"Why do they have a statute that says judges can grant parole if a judge can't grant parole?" Peters asked.
It is unclear if Gray was aware that Woods had been charged in a different crime, a double homicide in 2001 that took place at a suspected drug house. Those charges were dismissed when other witnesses wouldn't testify, KMBC's Peggy Breit reported.
In the meantime, prosecutors have to decide how and if they want to use Woods' testimony.
Prosecutors offered Woods a deal last year where they would drop charges against him if he turned evidence against Scott.
Woods backed out shortly before Scott's trial began, saying he feared reprisals against his family. Without his testimony prosecutors had to drop charges against Scott.
VIDEO at site shows the judge-
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/3450592/detail.html
Judge Paroles Murderer After 4 Months In Jail
Prosecutors Say Judge Overstepped Bounds
POSTED: 7:53 am CDT June 23, 2004
UPDATED: 6:09 pm CDT June 23, 2004
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --
Judge Paroles Murderer After 4 Months In Jail
A Jackson County judge has freed a convicted murderer after he served only four months of an 18-year sentence.
Circuit Judge Jon Gray said he released Kevin Woods (pictured, left), 28, of Kansas City, on probation last month because he wants Woods to testify against another suspect in the 1999 double homicide of Cashonda Miller, 18, and David Woods, 21, at a Kansas City motel.
SURVEY
Should a judge have released convicted murderer Kevin Woods on parole after serving only four months in jail as an incentive to testify in another trial?
I don't have a problem with the judge's decision.
Absolutely not.
I don't have an opinion.
Results | Disclaimer
Gray on Tuesday set July 6 as the date he will add conditions to the probation, which could include testifying against former co-defendant Tyrone Scott (pictured, below) of Grandview.
But prosecutors and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon say the judge has overstepped his bounds and are pushing to have Woods returned to jail.
"Maximum pressure on this guy (to testify) is a 6- by 8-foot cell, not the world to walk around in," Nixon said Tuesday.
Jackson County Prosecutor Mike Sanders echoed Nixon's reservations: "It opens a Pandora's box in Missouri. It would mean that any court at any time could release an offender."
"When the judge decided to release Mr. Woods on what he thought was grounds for judicial parole, that was not at our request," Sanders said.
The law under which Gray sentenced Woods in January didn't allow him to release the murderer after only four months. Instead, Gray said he was releasing Woods on "judicial parole."
Defense attorney Patrick Peters defended Gray's action, saying laws allow judges to grant parole in some situations.
"Why do they have a statute that says judges can grant parole if a judge can't grant parole?" Peters asked.
It is unclear if Gray was aware that Woods had been charged in a different crime, a double homicide in 2001 that took place at a suspected drug house. Those charges were dismissed when other witnesses wouldn't testify, KMBC's Peggy Breit reported.
In the meantime, prosecutors have to decide how and if they want to use Woods' testimony.
Prosecutors offered Woods a deal last year where they would drop charges against him if he turned evidence against Scott.
Woods backed out shortly before Scott's trial began, saying he feared reprisals against his family. Without his testimony prosecutors had to drop charges against Scott.