Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is urging the state supreme court to expedite the executions of eighteen men currently on death row in Missouri. Koster says nine of the defendants have exhausted their appeals, have no stays in effect, and no legal impediments remain for the Supreme Court to set execution dates.

There are no stays in place in the other nine cases.

Koster filed motions in the Missouri Supreme Court Thursday to set execution dates in the following capital murder cases:
State v. David Barnett
State v. Cecil Clayton
State v. Andre Cole
State v. Paul Goodwin
State v. Herbert Smulls
State v. Walter Storey
State v. Leon Taylor
State v. Michael Worthington
State v. David Zink

The motion reads: “The State of Missouri requests this Court to set an execution date for the appellant, as all appeals have been decided, no stay is in effect, and no legal impediment exists.

“The historical practice of this Court has been to issue an execution date upon the conclusion of state and federal litigation upholding a defendant’s capital murder conviction.

 

“Unless this Court sets an execution date after a capital murder defendant’s legal process is exhausted, the people of Missouri are without legal remedy. Accordingly, the State of Missouri requests this Court to set an execution date.”

Koster notes that nine other defendants being held on death row currently have no stays of execution in effect, but have no execution scheduled.

They are Cecil Clayton, Herbert Smulls, David Barnett, Leon Taylor, Walter Storey, Andre Cole, Michael Worthington, Paul Goodwin and David Zink.