The Kezer case

The twists keep turning in the Joshua Kezer case. Kezer, in prison on a 1992 conviction for murdering Angela Mischelle Lawless, is trying to get a new trial. Here is what we know:

• Neither DNA evidence nor fingerprints put Kezer at the crime scene.
• The man who picked Kezer out of a photo lineup changed his story several times. Recently, the witness wrote a letter to the Southeast Missourian saying he could have picked the wrong guy.
• A police report was found after the case was reopened by the Scott County sheriff, who was unconvinced Kezer was guilty. In the report, the same witness names a different suspect as being at the crime scene. That suspect had a solid alibi. The report, however, was never given to the defense. It was validated by former police officer Bobby Wooten in 2006. In May, Wooten changed his mind when talking to attorney general investigators.
• Other witnesses who came forward implicating Kezer were in prison and looking to reduce their sentences. Some of those witnesses, who say Kezer confessed to the murder, recanted their testimony, saying the story was concocted in an attempt to leverage the state.
• The Missouri State Highway Patrol refuses to enter DNA found at the scene into a national database, saying it can't verify the lab that did the testing.
• Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter was told that ballistics evidence from a New Madrid County murder was similar to evidence collected in the Lawless murder. A crime lab representative now says the bullets had different twists and could not have been fired from the same gun. Kezer's defense has filed a motion to get the evidence tested.

Meanwhile, the public is looking for straight answers. Former law enforcement officers, prosecutors and lab technicians haven't been able to give them to date. Witnesses in the case have changed their stories. We'd like to think that our law-enforcement and judicial officials are all seekers of the truth. If you're looking for consistency in this case, the only place you'll find it is in a prison cell in Jefferson City.