Kevin Strickland's hair could free him from prison

By Nomin Ujiyediin,

Published November 18, 2021 at 4:00 AM CST

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After spending 43 years in prison for a crime that prosecutors say he didn't commit, Kevin Strickland now has a shot at exoneration — based partly on the hairstyle in his booking photo. Plus, two Missouri lawmakers want to make sure that incarcerated mothers can still care for their newborns behind bars.

For months, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has agued that Kevin Strickland, a Black man from Kansas City, is innocent of the triple murder that put him behind bars in 1978. His fate currently rests in the hands of a judge. But as KCUR's Luke Martin reports, one retired judge says more African American representation in the criminal legal system could have kept Strickland out of prison in the first place.

For both mothers and their newborns, the bonding experience is an important one. But when the mother is incarcerated, their baby is often ushered away shortly after birth, and likely to end up in the foster care system. In a conversation with Steve Kraske on Up To Date, Missouri state Rep. Bruce DeGroot makes the case for nurseries in prisons.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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