A judge in southwest Missouri is holding the Missouri Department of Corrections in contempt for keeping an 81-year-old man in prison.
Greene County Circuit Judge David Jones has ordered the release of Howard Roberts, who was sentenced to 20 years in 2018 after he was found guilty of committing fraud against an elderly woman. Jones ordered a retrial earlier this year after Roberts claimed he had not received adequate counsel. Jones said state law dictates that Roberts must be released from South Central Correctional Center in the meantime.
On Aug. 7, Jones gave the department eight days to release Roberts or face fines of $1,000 a day. The Department of Corrections confirmed he was still incarcerated as of Monday afternoon.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office has opposed the release of a prisoner whose conviction was vacated several times this year.
The office blocked the release of Christopher Dunn, who had been serving a life sentence without parole for a 1991 murder and assault conviction. On July 22, a St. Louis Circuit judge ordered Dunn’s release. But, due to Bailey’s intervention, South Central Correctional Center did not release Dunn until July 30.
Similarly, Bailey blocked the release of Sandra Hemme, who was finally freed from prison in mid-July after a Livingston County circuit judge ordered her release in June.
