A man sentenced to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday who has insisted upon his innocence was on Monday denied clemency by Gov. Mike Kehoe and refused a delay of his execution by judges in the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Attorneys for Lance Shockley, who was convicted in 2009 of the murder of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl DeWayne Graham Jr., filed a motion last week challenging the Missouri Department of Corrections’ refusal to allow Shockley’s daughters, who are ordained ministers, to pray and lay hands upon him in the execution chamber.
Judge David Stras wrote in his opinion that denying Shockley’s request to be accompanied by his daughters would not place “a substantial burden” on Shockley’s religious beliefs. Stras also wrote that “having family members in the execution chamber poses special dangers to everyone involved,” including interfering with officials’ response during a potential emergency.
Jeremy Weis, Shockley’s lead attorney and an assistant federal public defender, said Monday evening that his team could request a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier in the day Monday, Kehoe in a press release described his denial of clemency as evidence of Missouri’s “commitment to the pursuit of justice.” Shockley’s advocates have argued he should not be executed because he was sentenced to death by a judge after the jury could not reach agreement on the death penalty.
Missouri is one of only two states, along with Indiana, that allow judges to unilaterally choose the death penalty when a jury is split on how to sentence a defendant for a capital offense. In most other states, a deadlocked jury results in a life sentence.
“[Kehoe] didn’t talk at all about the fact that the same jury that convicted him didn’t say he should die,” Weis said. “I find that troubling and disappointing.”
Graham was found shot dead in the driveway of his home in Carter County in March 2005. He had been investigating Shockley’s role in a fatal 2004 drunk driving accident, which the prosecution said gave Shockley a motive for murder.
Kehoe noted in the press release that the Missouri Supreme Court, a federal district court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court all reviewed Shockley’s case and let the trial court’s decision stand.
“Mr. Shockley has received every legal protection afforded to him under the Missouri and United States Constitutions,” Kehoe said, “and his sentence will remain for his brutal and deliberate crime.”
Weis said Thursday that Shockley’s legal team had found after the trial that at least two of the 12 jurors who convicted Shockley voted for him to serve life in prison.
Stras wrote in his opinion that Shockley’s daughters will be able to lead spiritual rituals during their father’s execution “from behind a glass window.”
Department of Corrections policy allows defendants the presence of their chosen spiritual advisor as they are put to death. The department denied Shockley’s request that his daughters fill this role, citing a policy prohibiting contact visits with family members once an execution has been scheduled.
Weis said that officials at the department “just don’t want to follow their policy.”
This story was updated at 6:52 p.m. to include a ruling by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This story was originally published by Missouri Independent, part of the States Newsroom.