Additional Coverage:
- Missouri executes man for killing state trooper despite disputed evidence and claims of innocence (themirror.com)
Missouri Carries Out Execution of Man Convicted in Trooper’s 2005 Murder
Bonne Terre, MO – Lance Shockley, a Missouri man who consistently maintained his innocence, was executed Tuesday evening for the 2005 fatal shooting of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr.
Shockley, 53, was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:30 p.m. at the state prison in Bonne Terre. The execution proceeded without incident, as confirmed by the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Prosecutors contended that Shockley ambushed Sgt. Graham near his Van Buren home in southeast Missouri, lying in wait for hours before opening fire with a rifle and shotgun as the trooper exited his patrol vehicle. Authorities believe Shockley targeted Graham because the trooper was investigating him for involuntary manslaughter in connection with a deadly accident that killed Shockley’s best friend.
Governor Mike Kehoe had denied Shockley’s clemency request on Monday. In a statement, Gov.
Kehoe affirmed, “Violence against those who risk their lives every day to protect our communities will never be tolerated. Missouri stands firmly with our men and women in uniform.”
The execution took place despite ongoing legal efforts by Shockley’s defense team. Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected a request to halt the execution, which sought to allow a lower appeals court to rule on a petition for DNA testing of evidence from the crime scene.
Jeremy Weis, one of Shockley’s attorneys, stated that a ruling on the DNA testing request before the execution was improbable. Shockley’s lawyers argue that much of this evidence has never been tested and could potentially exonerate their client.
“Even a small chance of exoneration is enough to warrant testing,” they asserted in court documents.
Additionally, Shockley’s attorneys raised concerns that his First Amendment rights were violated when the Missouri Department of Corrections barred his daughter from serving as his spiritual adviser during the execution. This claim was also cited in a request to a federal appeals court for a stay.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March 2022 that states must permit spiritual advisers in the death chamber, Missouri officials cited state prison policy, which prohibits family members from having direct contact with inmates during an execution due to security concerns about potential interference.
According to prosecutors, Shockley initially shot Graham with a rifle, severing his spinal cord and causing him to fall and fracture his skull. He then reportedly approached Graham and shot him in the face and shoulder with a shotgun. A .243-caliber rifle, owned by Shockley, matched the caliber of rounds recovered from Graham’s body, and bullet fragments found at Shockley’s uncle’s property were consistent with those from the trooper.
However, attorney Jeremy Weis noted that the prosecution’s case was entirely circumstantial, with no direct evidence linking Shockley to the killing. “The state’s case remained circumstantial,” Weis stated last week during a University of Missouri School of Law forum discussing the case.
“The murder weapons were never found. There were disagreements between the ballistics experts hired by the prosecution.”
Shockley’s attorneys also presented witness accounts placing their client approximately 14 miles from Graham’s home at the time of the murder.
Prosecutors, however, maintained that Shockley had inquired about Graham’s residence prior to the murder and attempted to dispose of .243-caliber ammunition around the time of the crime. They also argued that even favorable DNA test results would not undermine Shockley’s conviction.
Shockley’s execution marks the first in Missouri this year. The state’s last execution occurred on December 3, when Christopher Collings was put to death for the sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old girl.
Tuesday’s executions, which also included Samuel Lee Smithers in Florida, bring the total number of death sentences carried out nationwide this year to 37.