After spending four years in prison on a life sentence, a Kansas City lawyer has been freed of charges and his conviction. By late Monday, the attorney for Richard Buchli said he had not been officially told of the dismissal yet is glad for the end of Buchli’s ordeal.
Richard Buchli was convicted of beating to death his law partner, Richard Armitage,in their office in the Power and Light Building near 12th and Baltimore twelve years ago.
A Jackson County Circuit Court jury convicted Buchli two years after the murder. He was sentenced to life without parole.
In 2006 a judge threw out the conviction, finding Buchli’s defense lawyer hadn’t properly represented him and that prosecutors hid evidence favorable to Buchli.
The Kansas City Court of Appeals agreed and The Missouri Supreme Court wouldn’t take another look at the case.
The attorney who took Buchli’s appeal to successful dismissal, Richard Johnson, said he is convinced not only that his client is not legally guilty but is innocent as well.