Date set for next hearing on Kezer conviction

A Cole County, Mo., judge continued hearings on the murder conviction of Joshua Kezer today, setting another court date for July 28 in Jefferson City.

Kezer's defense team is challenging his conviction for the 1992 murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless, whose body was found at an Interstate 55 exit ramp near Benton, Mo. At the next hearing the judge is expected to rule on two defense motions — one of which seeks to test the ballistics evidence from the Lawless murder and compare the bullets to those from a 1994 New Madrid, Mo., murder. The defense also wants the court to order blood evidence from the Lawless crime scene to be entered into CODIS, a national database containing DNA samples of convicted felons.

The State of Missouri, in today's hearing, answered the defense's original 63-page motion challenging Kezer's conviction by citing trial testimony and recent statements from those involved in the case. The defense motion challenging the conviction alleges that evidence crucial to finding the verdict — evidence that may have cast doubt on Kezer's guilt — was kept out of the trial.

For more information on the purpose of today's hearing and the arguments defense lawyers are bringing before the judge, click on the link to Sunday's article, "Kezer's side questions court tactics".

For more information on Kezer and the Lawless murder click on the link that says "The Wrong Man?", a compilation of the Southeast Missourian's coverage of this case.