Kansas City News Blog

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that Steve Parkus’ death sentence should be changed to life in prison, removing him from Missouri’s death row for good.

Parkus, the subject of this Pitch cover story, was sentenced to prison for attempted rape in 1977. In prison, he got the death penalty after killing a man named Mark Steffenhagen. His public defender at the time wasn’t able to find Parkus’ medical records, which prove that he is schizophrenic and mentally retarded.

In 2001, then-Missouri Gov. Bob Holden signed a law stating that Missouri will not execute the mentally retarded. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that to execute anyone with an IQ below 70 is unconstitutional.

The Missouri high court’s decision to overturn Parkus’ death sentence was a victory for Sean O’Brien, the executive director of the nonprofit Public Interest Litigation Clinic in Kansas City. In November 2005, O’Brien’s clinic helped convince a judge in Washington County that Parkus is retarded. Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon appealed the decision, but the Missouri Supreme Court sided with O’Brien in this five-page decision.

“I’m thrilled," O'Brien tells the Pitch. "Looking backwards on it, it should not have been that hard or cost so much money to prove that Steve is mentally retarded.”

O'Brien says Parkus still hasn’t heard the good news about his status because Parkus recently forgot how to dial long-distance from prison.

“What was really a good thing about this," O'Brien said, "is they can stop pretending like there’s nothing wrong with him and treat him for the mental disabilities he has." -- Nadia Pflaum