Criminal Sentencing and Punishment

Illinois Man Sentenced for Plot to Abduct Man, Use Fake Bomb, Electrocute Him, Frame a Cat

Brett Nash, a 46-year-old Granite City resident, developed a plot to abduct an attorney, strap a fake bomb to him, electrocute him in a bathtub and try to frame the victim's cat -- who he also was going to kill. So says Stephen Wiggnton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, who ... More >>

Marriage Behind Bars: Judge Rules Missouri Law Can't Block Inmates From Tying the Knot

As the United States Supreme Court takes up gay marriage this week, in Missouri there's been progress in a different kind of marriage equality battle: the right to tie the knot behind bars. The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri has been fighting for months on behalf of a group of ... More >>

Sentencing Provides Details Into Grisly 2008 Murder of St. Louis County Counselor

The sentencing of 24-year-old Ronald Johnson on Wednesday afternoon was a foregone conclusion, but that didn't prevent tears among those gathered -- on either side of a St. Louis courtroom.  

Alice Gregory Pleads Guilty to Taking Bribes at Dept. of Revenue License Office

Alice H. Gregory, 27, the Department of Revenue clerk who was charged in February with accepting cash in return for processing new vehicle registrations and titles, yesterday pleaded guilty to those charges.

Ike Turner and Cocaine: A Devastating Dance

There's a well-established struggle in Ike Turner's musical legacy. Although he's considered a rock and roll innovator, his musical accomplishments were sometimes overshadowed by his personal struggles. While Turner's abusive behavior toward Tina Turner garners plenty of attention, another lingeri ... More >>

Man Stealing Girls' Underwear from Walmart Just as Creepy as Anticipated, But Still...

walmart.com​Daniel Scalf, of St. Louis, was sentenced to more than nineteen years in federal prison last week for a misstep begun in a southwestern Illinois retailer.According to prosecutors, local police picked up Scalf, 32, last January for shoplifting "little girls' underwear" in the Collinsvil ... More >>

The 10 Most WTF Crimes Committed by Musicians

​Surely you have heard the charges made against Coheed and Cambria's bassist, Michael Todd, alleging that he robbed a Walgreens pharmacy before a performance, leaving with multiple bottles of oxycodone and hailing a taxi to the band's performance in Massachusetts. Hilariously baffling? Of cour ... More >>

Brent Farris: St. Louis Fugitive Eluded Capture Like "Catch Me If You Can"

U.S. Marshal's Service via Houston ChronicleBrent Farris traveled under the alias Michael Royston.​Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Catch Me if You Can has nothing on 49-year-old Brent Farris. Farris, the former owner of Farris Gallery in St. Louis, was sentenced today to fourteen months in prison ... More >>

Searl Dunn: Convicted Child Killer Charged with Soliciting Minor on Facebook

Searl Dunn wrong, say police.​A 65-year-old man from High Ridge, who'd twice been sent to prison for killing a toddler and fondling a young girl, was charged yesterday in St. Louis County with attempting to entice a minor online. According to police, Searl L. Dunn used Facebook to connect with a s ... More >>

Feds End Towing Scandal Investigation; Police Department Says It Will Now Review Case

Towing scandal: It's outta here.​Kevin Shade, a former detective with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, was sentenced yesterday to 27 months in prison for his role in the towing scandal that rocked the department back in 2008. According to the indictment the 36-year-old Shade passed ve ... More >>

Missouri Senate Passes Bill to Keep Some Non-Violent Offenders from Prison

​Perhaps senator Matt Bartle (R - Kansas City) is attempting to redeem himself after being voted "Ass Clown of the Week" back in February. Back then Daily RFT readers didn't care much for Bartle's bill to outlaw nudity at Missouri strip clubs. That said, I would venture to guess that most our read ... More >>

Ohio Finally Tries Out New Execution Method RFT Wrote About Five Years Ago

Susan Sanford​Earlier today Ohio prison officials executed a death row inmate with an injection of a single drug, rather than the three-chemical intravenous series that has been used throughout the U.S. since lethal injection came to prominence in the 1970s.Five years ago RFT staff write ... More >>

A Shot in the Arm

A federal appeals court says Darryl Burton might very well be innocent of the 1984 murder of Donald Ball. But there's nothing they can do about it.

Letters

Week of October 29, 2003

Dying to Get Out

Some inmates tell horror stories about healthcare at the women's prison in Vandalia. Some didn't live to tell their tales.

The Case of the Vanishing Videotape

A workhouse inmate claims he was wrongly beaten, and city officials scramble to get their stories straight

Best Local Girl Made Good

Dora Schriro

Habitat for Inhumanity

The "asylums" depicted in The Magdalene Sisters undermine both the Catholic Church and the popular image of Ireland

Behind Closed Doors

Once open to the world, Missouri's death row is now secret

Zen and the Art of Evasion

An alleged rape points to big workhouse problems

Serial Tiller

When it comes to ripping people off, John Tiller and the Civil Rights Legal Defense Team just keep going and going

So Long, Joe

While Joe Amrine waits to die, Missouri courts won't admit they may be wrong

Brother's Keeper

David Kaczynski talks about the decision that tore his family apart

Getting What You Pay For

Blame for problems at the workhouse goes all the way to the top

Empty Promises

Missouri has been pouring millions into prisons that aren't being used. But stay tuned: If politicians have their way, there will be plenty of inmates to go around.

Captive Audience

The Prison Arts Project helps local inmates present a mesmerizing Hamlet

Solitary Man

Lifer Bill Herron knew exactly how to get out of jail -- until 16 years ago, when the Missouri Department of Corrections locked him in solitary

Fallen Angel

Angela Coffel, the first woman in Missouri deemed a sexually violent predator, is locked up despite overwhelming evidence that she isn't one.

Taking No Prisoners

Missouri maintains a spotless record at Bonne Terre facility

Hard of Hearing

The city was slow in adopting a jail-suicide expert's advice

Unlucky Seven

Faced with an unprecedented rash of inmate suicides, St. Louis was slow to respond. Now there's a new jailhouse boss in town.

Dirty Work

A tale of prison gardeners is this summer's sweetest feel-good comedy

Blooper Max

Another security breach surfaces at Illinois' superexpensive supermaximum prison

Hard Luck, Hard Time

Donald Thweatt was once ready to fight for his country. Now he's fighting for his freedom.

They've Got the Wrong Martyr

Tragic as his story might be, convicted killer isn't living in a perfect world

Cell Theory

A new book takes an alarming look at America's increasing reliance on prisons

The Benetton Four

Meet the men who sparked a lawsuit

Killer Campaign

When the Benetton clothing company dared to humanize death-row inmates in a $20 million ad campaign, Attorney General Jay Nixon threw a fit. Then he played right into their hands and sued them.

No Way Out

When Wendy Huddleston fell $1,370 behind in child-support payments, she was jailed indefinitely. She needed money or a lawyer -- and she had neither.

Nothing Left to Lose

Faced with supertough restrictions, inmates at Tamms protest by refusing to eat

Mr. Death

Directed by Errol Morris

The Lost Boys

The Boys from Boonville

In 1963, a group of African-American runaways and truants was sent to a rural reform school. Then the nightmare began.

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of February 23

Cruel and Usual

Tamms Correctional Center is one of the toughest, most expensive and least crowded prisons in the nation. But does it accomplish anything —- besides driving inmates insane?

TURNED 21 IN PRISON

Kevin Pelot struggles to articulate the thoughts fermenting inside him, sealed in the cask of prison life

MORE DEATHLY POLITICS FROM JOHN ASHCROFT

COMMUNICATION SHAKEDOWN

MCI WorldCom and the state are raking in windfall profits from the captive customers in Missouri's prisons

Legislative Lockdown

Justice for All