Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics hold off resuming abortions, await court ruling

By Anna Spoerre

Missouri Independent

It’s been more than twelve hours since Amendment 3 went into effect in Missouri. No abortions have begun again at the state’s Planned Parenthood clinics.

That’s because officials with Planned Parenthood, which operates health centers across the state, said they are still waiting on a judge’s decision on whether to grant an injunction that would allow abortions without decades’ worth of restrictive targeted regulations on abortion providers, or TRAP, laws.

 

The day after voters narrowly decided to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban and protect the right to an abortion in the state constitution, the ACLU of Missouri, Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers sued the state to strike down those statutes.

Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang on Wednesday heard arguments in the lawsuit. As of 2 p.m. Friday, she had not issued a decision.

Planned Parenthood officials on Wednesday said they intended to start taking walk-in medication abortion appointments at their clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis as early as Friday if the judge ruled in their favor. Surgical abortion appointments would become available later.

Spokespeople with the local Planned Parenthood clinics told the Missouri Independent midday Friday that the clinics had not started walk-in abortion medication appointments nor had they started scheduling surgical abortions as they await a ruling.

While the lawsuit asks for a preliminary injunction, issuing one is up to Zhang’s discretion. Court challenges can take months, if not years. In Ohio, where citizens voted to protect abortion rights last year, it wasn’t until nearly a year later that a county judge struck down that state’s “heartbeat” law.

“The court is no doubt carefully analyzing years of anti-abortion laws and multiple outright bans on abortion. We know that review takes time,” Emily Wales, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement Friday. “Complicating the process, however, is an Attorney General’s office that has made clear it will fight tooth and nail to prevent Missourians from accessing their new constitutional right to reproductive freedom.

Amendment 3 states “the right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the government demonstrates that such action is justifiable by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Wednesday’s hearing in-part centered around whether the state’s TRAP laws helped or harmed women seeking abortions.

These laws include a 72-hour waiting period between an initial appointment and an abortion; requiring doctors providing abortions to have hospital admitting privileges; and a requirement that the same physician who initially saw the patient also perform the abortion.

 

Attorneys with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office maintain the regulations protect women and said the office plans to enforce the current TRAP laws until a judge rules otherwise.

“It’s sick that Planned Parenthood doesn’t acknowledge the difference between a miscarriage and an abortion, a slap in the face to the millions who have lost beloved babies prematurely,” Madeline Sieren, the spokeswoman for Bailey, said in a statement Friday, adding that the office will “continue to thwart Planned Parenthood at every opportunity.”

On Thursday, members of 40 Days For Life gathered outside five Planned Parenthood clinics across the state to pray that the judge deny the injunction “for the health and safety of women seeking abortions.”

“I am just happy the judge is taking time to consider this and not just rushing into a judgement,” Kathy Forck, with 40 Days for Life in Columbia, said Friday afternoon.

If Zhang rules in Planned Parenthood’s favor, the Columbia clinic would begin offering abortions again for the first time in six years.

“Now that the possibility is there that it could happen again, we are trusting in God,” Forck said. “We have continued to receive advanced training for sidewalk counseling through these six years, and we are ready to offer that same message of hope and health that we’ve always offered to the women.”

A decade ago, more than 5,000 abortions were performed in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. By 2020, when abortions were still legal, that number fell to 167, a drop that abortion providers attributed to the state’s growing list of regulations.

“As of today, Missourians have an unrealized constitutional right,” Wales said. “They are entitled to access abortion under the state’s constitution, and every day they cannot get that care here at home, their rights are being violated.”

Zhang on Wednesday denied the state’s request to remove Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker as a defendant and move the case to Cole County, where, earlier this year, a judge struck Amendment 3 from the ballot. That decision swas soon overridden by the Missouri Court of Appeals.


The attorney general’s office said they plan to appeal this decision, arguing that Peters Baker does not appropriately represent all statewide prosecutors because of her previous statements in support of abortion rights.

(Photo by Tessa Weinberg/Missouri Independent)

Domino's plans fundraiser for Braxton Thrasher, 17, critically injured in hit-and-run accident

Carthage Domino's will hold a fundraiser December 11 for employee Braxton Thrasher, 17, who was hit and critically injured by a hit-and-run driver while on his moped November 30.

Twenty-five percent of the money from all Domino's orders that day will be donated to Braxton's family to help pay for its expenses. Braxton remains in critical condition at a Springfield hospital.

The driver who allegedly hit Braxton, Miguel Gaspar-Diaz has been charged with assault, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence and is being held in the Jasper County Jail on no bond for the charges related to the accident and on an ICE warrant. 

Filing for Joplin R-8 Board of Education begins next week

(From Joplin Schools)

Are you interested in running for one of the two available seats on the Joplin Schools Board of Education for the April 2025 election? Candidate filings will open at 8:00am Tuesday, Dec. 10 at Memorial Education Center.

For more information, including resources, legal guides, filing instructions and information packets, please visit www.JoplinSchools.org/Candidates

Carthage man who allegedly secretly videoed 11-year-old in Tarzan Zerbini Circus shower to be held without bond

During a hearing today in U. S. District Court in Springfield, Judge David P. Rush ordered Uriah Behl, 39, Carthage, to be held without bond while awaiting trial for possession of child pornography and for secretly videotaping an 11-year-old girl in the community shower at the Tarzan Zerbini Circus.

Behl was charged in federal court after being arrested by the Carthage Police Department and charged by the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney with eight counts of invasion of privacy.

More information about the case can be found at the link below.

The Turner Report: Bond hearing set for Carthage man indicted for videoing girl, 11, in Tarzan Zerbini circus shower, possessing child porn

Probable cause: Joplin driver hits juvenile on moped, removes him from car, places him in ditch, leaves scene

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed felony assault, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence against a Joplin driver who allegedly struck a juvenile on a moped, pulled the child off his car, placed him in the ditch and left the scene November 30.

The child remains in critical condition at a Springfield hospital.

The allegations against Miguel Gaspar-Diaz (DOB 1981) were spelled out in the probable cause statement, which was filed today in Jasper County Circuit Court.

On 11/30/2024 at approximately 2051 hours, the Carthage Police Department responded to an injury crash involving a juvenile male victim on a moped and an unknown second vehicle that had left the scene in the 1100 block of S. Baker Blvd. 

Upon arrival, officers located the unoccupied moped in the middle of the road with extensive damage. A resident in the 1000 block of S. Baker contacted law enforcement and advised that there was a male lying in the ditch on the east side of the road in front of their residence. 

Carthage Fire Department responded and located the juvenile male victim and began rendering immediate aid due to obvious signs of trauma indicative of a serious motor vehicle crash. 

The juvenile male victim was transported by EMS emergency to Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Newton County, Missouri, with extensive injuries. The juvenile male has injuries including; brain bleeding and swelling, a torn aortic artery, a broken arm, a broken leg, multiple other broken bones, several lacerations, and road rash. There are also several other injuries documented as ongoing due to the severity and requiring the juvenile male to remain on life-saving equipment. 

The Juvenile was later transported to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Green County, Missouri, for a higher level of care due to his life-threatening injuries. 

During a subsequent investigation, it was determined by security footage from the area of the crash, that the vehicle fled the scene north to the intersection of Central Ave. and Baker Blvd. The vehicle then fled westbound outside the city limits of Carthage approximately four minutes after the crash occurred. 

The vehicle was later identified as a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox by parts of the vehicle located in the ditch next to where the juvenile male victim was found. The Carthage Police Department, with the assistance of the Joplin Police Department, was able to locate a red 2013 Chevrolet Equinox bearing Missouri license plate TD8U8N at the residence of the suspect with obvious front-end damage. 

The male at the residence, who was later identified as Miguel Gaspar-Diaz, initially said that he had struck a deer on 11/25/24 and had not been to Carthage. 

Carthage Detectives were able to partially reconstruct the damage to the front of the vehicle with the pieces that were recovered from the scene of the crash. Revealing in fact the vehicle in question was the vehicle involved in the crash that had fled the scene. 

During a subsequent interview with Gaspar-Diaz, he admitted to drinking alcohol at a friend's house in Carthage prior to the accident. Gasper-Diaz admitted to hitting the juvenile male victim with his vehicle and driving a few hundred feet before stopping and removing the juvenile male victim from the hood of his car and placing him in the ditch. 

Gasper Diaz admitted to then fleeing the scene without attempting to contact law enforcement or exchange information with the other party involved. It was later discovered Gasper-Diaz had never possessed a valid Missouri Driver's License. He has three current suspensions on his driving privileges in the State of Missouri. 

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Seven children taken from cockroach infested Goodman home, mother, aunt, uncle face felony charges

Three Goodman residents were charged with seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child and seven counts of child abuse following a law enforcement visit that was prompted by a Children's Division report.

A $10,000 cash bond has been set for Brandi Jo Rudd (DOB 1983), who is described as the mother of at least some of the children, according to the probable cause statement. The others who were charged, Kyle W. Condreay (DOB 1982) and Christina Bennett (DOB 1989), are described in the document, which was filed today in McDonald County Circuit Court, as the children's uncle and aunt.

The Children's Division was alerted by the Neosho R-5 School District which reported one of the children said she was struck in the head repeatedly, kicked and forced to sleep on the floor with no blanket "for disciplinary reasons."

Conditions in the home were described by the Goodman Police Department in the probable cause statement:

After securing the suspects in the patrol units, Sgt. Ledford and I conducted a walk-through of the residence in search of anybody else inside. I immediately noticed that there was marijuana paraphernalia on the kitchen table. 

Just beyond the table the floor of the house was falling in, with plants growing through the walls. The kitchen was covered with cockroaches, dirty dishes, and broken appliances. 

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Just off of the kitchen was a room that was later confirmed as {the children's} bedroom. In the room was a particle board wood floor covered in dog feces and urine. 

In the comer of the room was a "blanket" that the victim stated was her "pillow." Further walk through led us to observe the bathroom in which a majority of the floor was missing around the bathtub and the toilet. There was also human feces located. 

There was also a hole in the wall directly to {another} bedroom. The "adults' room" was littered with trash and clothing, and it appeared that the ceiling was collapsing. The back bedroom had four bunkbeds; all had a small blanket however no sheets or pillows were observed by me. 

When the Goodman officer learned that Bennett was headed to the school to pick up the children, the Neosho Police Department was called and asked to pick up Bennett and not allow the children to go with her.

Interviews at the Children's Center indicated all seven children "were subject to abuse by being hit in the head for punishment with an autistic child being the primary target, according to the probable cause statement.

One of the children, who had recently been kicked was having problem breathing and was sent to a hospital to be checked for possible broken ribs.

Federal grand jury indicts Joplin man, woman on meth, weapons charges

A grand jury indictment of two Joplin residents on charges with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person was unsealed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

According to the indictment, Frederick Bert Utter, Jr., 42, and Haley Chastain Covell, 24, allegedly committed the crimes May 7 in Newton County.

Utter pleaded not guilty during his arraignment today in Springfield. A detention hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Court records do not indicate any hearings have been scheduled for Covell.

Billy Long, Trump's choice for IRS head, violated FEC regulations with dozens of Las Vegas trips

Compared to the allegations that have been made against such Donald Trump nominees as Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Pete Hegseth, it may not seem like much, but his nominee for head of the Internal Revenue Service, former Seventh District Congressman Billy Long, compiled a lengthy history of using campaign donor money to pay for junkets to Las Vegas.

The expenditures appear to be a violation of FEC regulations since they did not seem to have any purpose related to his campaign, any educational purpose, or any legislative purpose.

Long's Vegas trips were chronicled fully in the Turner Report over the years, including this excerpt from the November 7, 2015 Turner Report:

FEC documents filed last month indicate that during the months of July through September, Seventh District Congressman Billy Long spent nearly as much time in Las Vegas as he did in the nation's capital or in southwest Missouri.

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Long's latest financial disclosure report shows he was in Sin City at least the first three days of July, August 10-14, and September 16-23.

Among the expenditures detailed in Long's report:

-$9,950.08 to Wynn Las Vegas for lodging August 16
-$607.01 to Wynn Las Vegas for lodging September 21
-$8,364.92 to Wynn Las Vegas September 23
-$882 to Caesars Palace for event tickets September 17
-$184.97 to Caesars Palace for meal September 23

Another approximately $1,500 was spent for meals, taxi fare, and air travel.

The April 18, 2020 Turner Report examined how Billy Long managed to get in a few days in Vegas just before the city's most popular venues were closed due to COVID-19:

One week before the state of Nevada closed hotels and casinos due to COVID-19, Seventh District Congressman Billy Long, using campaign money, took a final swing through some of the state's hot spots.







Long's campaign disclosure report, filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), shows expenditures for lodging and meals at casinos in Stateline, Nevada March 9 and 10 and in Reno March 12.

Nevada shut down its hotels and casinos five days after the Reno stop.

The expenditures were recorded during a three-month period that saw Long raising $111,498.50, but spending more than three times that amount, $356,130.32. At the end of the reporting period, he had $475,866.38 in his campaign account.

Long's whirlwind tour began Friday, March 9 with a $536.61 meal at one of the top fine eating establishments.

"No trip to Harrah's Lake Tahoe is complete without a visit to Friday's Station Steak and Seafood Grill," according to its website.

Friday’s Station is a Lake Tahoe steak and seafood restaurant that specializes in a wide variety of certified Angus and USDA Choice beef, ocean-fresh seafood specials and tantalizing side dishes, all served up with a breathtaking panorama of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevadas.

The Friday's Station menu describes an array of dishes, undoubtedly topped by the succulent prime rib featuring "USDA Choice Roasts Aged for Tenderness and Roasted at a Low Temperature for Several Hours. The Perfect Marbling Contributes to the Excellent Flavor of These Center Cuts. Served with Au Jus, Friday’s Baked Potato with all the Fixings, and Creamed Horseradish."

The disclosure reports do not indicate if Long took advantage of the restaurant's offer to make its dishes gluten-free or if he sampled menu items like the "Apple Wood Smoked Free Range Chicken" or the "Prime Grade New York Steak.

Thankfully, the "friendly and knowledgeable staff" helps diners to choose the perfect wine to accompany the meals from their "newly expanded list of domestic and imported vintages."

On Saturday, March 10, the Long campaign paid $530.28 for lodging at Harrah's, as well as an additional $746. 60 also listed as lodging on the report.

The deluxe-sized guest rooms at Harrah's include a flat screen TV, Wi-Fi, a double soundproof wall and special "blackout curtains assuring a relaxed atmosphere."

The windows "provide spectacular lake and mountain views."

With amenities like that, you couldn't blame someone for spending a considerable amount of time in the room, but Harrah's also offers "24-hour casino action," with games including poker for anyone who is so inclined.

No items are included for Sunday, March 11, but on Monday, March 12, the campaign paid $389.40 for "lodging" at the Peppermill Hotel and Restaurant in Reno, according to the report.

At the Peppermill, in addition to luxurious suites, even more gambling opportunities are available. According to the hotel's website, you can "enjoy slots, table games and poker in the 82,000-square-foot casino and race and sports book."

Whether Long participated in any gambling activities is not mentioned in the report and some go to Reno to enhance their knowledge of history by visiting the National Automobile Museum where you can see John Wayne's 1953 Chevrolet Corvette or take in wholesome entertaining activities like the Animal Ark wildlife sanctuary.

Though no other Nevada activities are recorded for March in Long's report, he visited his old Las Vegas stomping grounds in February.

While there were no expenditures for lodging, the report shows the campaign paid $377.35 to Presidential Limousine on February 3.

If you are in Las Vegas, Presidential Limousine would seem to be a great way to get around town.

Not only does the limousine take you where you want to go, but it does so with complimentary champagne, a "luxurious leather interior," flat screen TV, premium sound system and fiber optic neon lighting.

No one should travel in Vegas without fiber optic neon lighting.

A lesser amount, $63.86, was paid to Presidential Limousine February 6, indicating another weekend may have been spent within the confines of the state of Nevada.

Whether that money is the only money that was spent at Nevada casinos, hotels and restaurants is not clear.

The campaign report also shows a credit card processing fee of $307.97 for February 5 when Long was in Las Vegas, plus credit card payments of $18,494.62 and $8,468.06 on March 31 and $21,949.31 on February 21. Though credit card payments are required to be itemized on FEC disclosure reports, there does not appear to be any itemization on Long's report.

Among other Turner Report posts on Long's Vegas trips were the April 22, 2017 report that noted Long made four trips to Vegas during the first three months of that year and 2016 reporting on the only one of Long's many trips that actually appear to be connected to his campaign- a Weekend in Vegas fundraiser on September 30 through October 3 that included a Celine Dion concert and "special guest" Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

While such a fundraiser is definitely legal, Long's FEC reports for October 2017 and January 2018 do not show any contributions to Long's campaign fund being made during that weekend.

Long's Vegas trip, which were far more extensive than the ones noted in this post, were never reported by traditional media.

The Joplin Globe and Springfield News-Leader, the biggest newspapers in the Seventh District, mentioned the Weekend in Vegas fundraiser. The Springfield News-Leader wrote about the Vegas trips in 2012, but did no investigative reporting and didn't bother to check the FEC records. The article quoted from the Turner Report and a couple of now-defunct Springfield blogs that commented on Long's trips.

 

Trump has sense of humor, picks Billy Long to lead the IRS

By Jason Hancock

Missouri Independent

Former Missouri Congressman Billy Long was tapped on Wednesday evening by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Internal Revenue Service.

Trump called Long — who served six terms representing a Southwest Missouri district — a “consummate people person,” adding “taxpayers and the wonderful employees of the IRS will love having Billy at the helm.”

The current IRS commissioner’s term doesn’t expire until 2027.

Long was one of the first elected officials to jump on the “Trump train,” a phrase he claims to have coined. When most considered Trump’s candidacy a joke or publicity stunt, Long said he was all in, touting Trump to foreign leaders and GOP insiders who snickered at the notion that the real estate mogul and reality TV star would be the next president.

“Trump, I saw it early on,” Long told The Independent in 2022, “he has the ‘it’ factor.”

After a long career as an auctioneer, and a few years as a conservative talk radio host, Long decided to jump into the 2010 race for the Congressional seat being vacated when Roy Blunt decided to run for U.S. Senate.

Long said no one took him seriously.

“It was an eight-way race,” Long said, “and I was supposed to come in ninth. I was the Donald Trump of the race.”

He was pegged as a candidate who was only in the race “for publicity,” Long said, “to help my business and blah, blah, blah, the same things they said about Trump.”

His own campaign consultants told him he was “too fat to put on TV,” he said. “And you can put that in the newspaper. They said, ‘You’re too fat. You can’t go on TV. You’ll scare people.’”

McDonald County School District mourns death of high school sophomore

(The following message was posted today on the McDonald County School District Facebook page following the death Tuesday of high school sophomore Landen Cates.) 

It is with deep sadness that we share the news that one of our McDonald County High School students passed away yesterday at home. Our hearts are with the family, friends, and all who are feeling the weight of this tragic loss.

We recognize that this news may be especially difficult for those who knew the student well. Please know that we are here to support our students through this challenging time. 

Counselors and trained staff have been available throughout the day and will be in the future to help any student who needs someone to talk to or who may be struggling with the emotions this news brings.

Out of respect for the family, we are not sharing additional details. We ask for your understanding and kindness as we all process this together. Please keep the family, our students, and our staff in your thoughts.

 
As a McDonald County family, we will support one another through this incredibly difficult time and continue to provide support for those in need.

Landen Cates obituary

Springfield man sentenced to 15 years in Carthage child molestation case

Judge Dean Dankelson sentenced a Springfield man to 15 years on a child molestation charge Tuesday during a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Under a plea agreement with the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office, Clarence Parks, Jr., 49, entered an Alford plea to the charges, meaning that he does not admit guilt, but acknowledges there would be enough evidence to convict him if the case went to trial.

As part of the agreement, the prosecution dismissed two counts of statutory sodomy against Parks.

The victim in the case was a girl who was under the age of 14, according to the plea agreement. The case was investigated by the Carthage Police Department. The crimes occurred in 2015, according to court records.

Parks will serve his sentence concurrently with a 7-year sentence handed down in 2022 in Christian County for child abuse.

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Bond hearing set for Carthage man indicted for videoing girl, 11, in Tarzan Zerbini circus shower, possessing child porn

A 9:30 a.m. Friday detention hearing is scheduled in U. S. District Court for Uriah Behl, 39, Carthage, who allegedly secretly videoed an 11-year-old girl in the Tarzan Zerbini Circus' community shower and possessed child pornography.

A grand jury indicted Behl November 6 following a Carthage Police Department investigation that led the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office to file eight counts of invasion of privacy.

From the probable cause in the Jasper County case:

On 02-21-2024, I Detective Trenton Greene, conducted data extractions from three electronic devices belonging to Uriah Behl for an ongoing investigation related to invasion of privacy crimes.
While reviewing one of the devices, I found the following:

- 161 still images of young (mostly female) juvenile victims of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). These juvenile victims were very young in age and appearing to be prepubescent, exposing their genitals in a sexual nature as well as some of the images, the victims were performing sexual acts and getting sexually abused.

The estimated age range is from 4 years of age to 10+ years of age. The images were saved within the “cache” of the phone which means the suspect had visited various websites and viewed the images.

- A video that Uriah took of an 11-year-old female juvenile (VICTIM #1) taking a shower in a private bathroom with her mother, WITNESS #1. VICTIM #1 was fully nude, with her breasts and genitals seen throughout the video. The video is 37 minute and 18 second video in duration and was time stamped on 11-12-2023 @ 2015 hrs.

Uriah had hidden the phone between the wall and carpet of the bathroom and was on video placing it there. Due to the suspect having CSAM on his device, it’s suspected he was using the video for sexual gratification.

More information can be found at the link below:

The Turner Report: Carthage man faces eight felony charges after cell phone records videos in Tarzan Zerbini Circus shower (rturner229.blogspot.com)

Jill Carter pre-files legislation to strengthen Missouri's role in border security

(From Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby)

Committed to protecting Missouri citizens and addressing the ongoing border crisis, State Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, has pre-filed Senate Bill 58, which would establish the “Interstate Compact for Border Security Act.” The legislation aims to enable Missouri to collaborate with other states to enhance border security and deter illegal immigration.

“During my recent visit with law enforcement at the United States - Mexico border, I witnessed firsthand the immense challenges they face in combating cartel operations and international crime syndicates that dominate illegal border crossings,” Sen. Carter said. “The $13 billion industry, driven by human trafficking, narcotics and violence is not just a border issue; it’s impacting communities across Missouri, including my own district.”

Senator Carter says Missouri communities and law enforcement agencies continue to grapple with the ripple effects of cartel activity, including rising drug overdoses, violence and resource shortages. She believes SB 58 represents a critical step in providing the tools and legal framework necessary to support law enforcement and enhance public safety.

Other provisions of the legislation include:

· Prohibiting illegal entry: The bill prohibits individuals from entering the state illegally. Offenders would face a Class E felony, punishable by one to seven years in prison, a $10,000 fine and deportation.

· Addressing illegal immigrants arrested for state crimes: The legislation includes a provision addressing illegal immigrants arrested for violating Missouri law. Penalties would vary based on the underlying offense, ranging from a Class E felony to a Class B felony, with significant fines and imprisonment.

Pre-filing of legislation began this week for the upcoming legislative session, which begins Jan. 8. For more about Sen. Carter’s legislative actions, visit senate.mo.gov/Carter.

Thoughts on Rowan Ford and the execution of her killer

Chris Collings is dead.

At 6:10 p.m. he was given a lethal injection.

In the last sentence of his last statement, Collings said, "I hope to see you in heaven one day."

I don't pretend to know how that works, but I'm betting the odds are against it.

The news coverage today was centered around this man who raped and murdered a 9-year-old girl and then threw her body into a sinkhole. I read about how he helped his future victim, Rowan Ford, with her homework, how he was the father of two and how he greeted people with a hug.

I learned of his tragic childhood, separated from his siblings, sexually abused.

It was the same kind of pull at the heartstrings reporting you see every time someone is nearing execution.

What you don't see is much about the victim.

So Chris Collings had a horrible childhood. At least he survived his.

You read about Chris Collings, but you didn't read about the little girl who rode her purple bicycle on the streets of Stella, who arrived at Triway Elementary every day and was loved by her teachers. She spent much of her time at her school and at her church.

Rowan Ford had a passion for learning that could have taken her far from the poverty and abuse she experienced.

All she needed was a chance.

It's easy to concentrate on the killers when they are executed, easy and lazy.

We must never forget the victims.

Chris Collings' last statement: I hope to see you in heaven one day

 

Chris Collings, 49, was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 6:10 p.m. this evening at the Diagnostic and Correctional Center at Bonne Terre.

The execution took place 17 years, four weeks and three days after he raped and murdered 9-year-old Rowan Ford, a fourth grader at Triway Elementary in Stella, and tossed her body into a sinkhole.

The execution took place one day after both Gov. Mike Parson and the U. S. Supreme Court rejected his attorneys' pleas for a delay.

Collings' legal team released the following statement:

“Chris was taken too early from this Earth. We share Chris’s desire that his death will provide a measure of closure for the victim’s family and that the people hurt by him will be able to carry on. What occurred today, though, was an act of vengeance, but it will not define Chris, nor will it be how we remember him.”

Commentary- Parson would enrich his legacy by showing mercy to Chris Collings (written before 6 p.m.)

By Laura Schopp

For the Missouri Independent

On Tuesday evening, the state of Missouri is scheduled to once again require state workers to kill a human being.

Christopher Collings would be the 101st person Missouri officials have executed since 1989. He was sentenced to death for the murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford in Stella, a town in southwest Missouri. We mourn Rowan’s death and grieve her loss along with all who loved her.

At the same time, Missourians should not condone the use of state violence to end Collings’ life, especially in light of irregularities which plagued the investigation and trial, Collings’ structural brain abnormalities and his brutal upbringing.

Gov. Mike Parson should intervene in an act of mercy to halt the execution and commute Collings’ sentence to life in prison.

On Nov. 9, 2007, Rowan’s stepfather David Spears and Collings both confessed to different police departments that they raped and murdered the child. Friends and acquaintances portrayed Collings as a follower and someone who would do anything for Spears — who had helped Collings get a job and provided him a place to live for several months. That includes, perhaps, even taking the fall for murder.

Collings went on trial first. His confession was the primary evidence used to convict him. No physical evidence directly implicated him in the crimes. After the state secured Collings’ conviction, prosecutors dropped the first-degree murder charge against Spears.

Laura Schopp is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, professor emerita and former chair of the University of Missouri Department of Health Psychology.

According to the Kansas City Star, Spears pled guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and hindering a felony prosecution, received an 11-year sentence and was freed in 2016.

Spears’ confession aligns closely with available evidence, and Spears himself led officials to his stepdaughter’s body in a sinkhole. A trained police cadaver dog positively signaled that the child had been in the cargo hold of a car Spears borrowed that night, consistent with his confession.

Spears had previously repeatedly lied to authorities to deflect his guilt, including lying about the whereabouts of his stepdaughter that night when his wife was at work. FBI investigators confiscated Spears’s computer hard drives and found two years’ worth of pornographic materials, some featuring violence against teenage girls and even children.

During Collings’ trial, prosecutors declined to disclose that then-Wheaton Police Chief Clinton Clark, the star witness who secured Collings’ confession, had four criminal convictions and himself had been incarcerated for several months. Clark’s criminal record would have undermined his credibility, especially given the lack of physical evidence implicating Collings.

Jurors in Collings’ trial never heard this evidence regarding the Police Chief’s own criminal record.

They also never heard evidence documenting Collings’ brain abnormalities. It wasn’t until years later that a neurologist reviewed brain MRI images, EEG and other diagnostic testing.

The neurologist attested to anatomic abnormalities in the right temporal lobe of Collings’ brain, consistent with difficulties in memory and emotional regulation, and likely the source of abnormal brain electrical activity.

The neurologist further noted that Collings’ brain showed “deficits in circuits that are responsible for functions such as awareness, judgment and deliberation, comportment, appropriate social inhibition, and emotional regulation,” which in turn “made the effects of the
alcohol he consumed that day of the crime that much more deleterious to his capacity to exercise judgment and deliberate.”

At least three of the trial jurors later said this information would have made a difference and they would have voted for life without parole instead of death if they had known it.

Collings’ own upbringing was a nightmare of pain, violence and neglect. He was placed as a baby in foster care and was frequently physically abused and repeatedly raped as a child by caregivers and trusted others. Despite this, Collings’s years of sobriety while incarcerated are evidence that he needed help and was amenable to a different life path. He had no prior criminal record and no major prison violations.







He’s been a positive presence in prison, involved in restorative justice programs, has consistently held a prison job, and was chosen to be part of a program that trains dogs for adoption. Collings has had and continues to have a positive impact on the lives of many people, including his two daughters. With a life without parole sentence, he could continue to give back to his family and society. But a death sentence necessarily will remove this opportunity from these lives and replace it with trauma.

Taken together, Missourians should be alarmed about imposing a death sentence in light of procedural irregularities, Collings’ brain abnormalities and his brutal childhood abuse.

Humanity and simple mercy demand that Missourians deserve better. Gov. Parson would enrich his legacy by exercising such grace.

Laura Schopp is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, professor emerita and former chair of the University of Missouri Department of Health Psychology.

Columbia woman sentenced to seven years for running over Jasper police officer

Judge Dean Dankelson sentenced Raven Cheyenne Gomez, 29, Columbia, to seven years in prison Monday during a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Gomez, who initially was charged with first degree assault for attacking a Jasper police officer and running over her, had the charges reduced to third degree assault, also a felony, after reaching a plea agreement with the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office.

Information from the probable cause statement can be found at the link below.

The Turner Report: Sentencing set for Columbia woman who ran over Jasper police officer

State taxpayers paying Rowan Ford's stepfather $40,288 a year to work in public defender's office

At one point in the investigation into the murder of 9-year-old Triway Elementary fourth grader Rowan Ford in November 2007, two men confessed to their involvement in the girl's rape and murder.

One of those men, Chris Collings, 49, was executed earlier this evening in Bonne Terre.

The other man, Rowan Ford's stepfather, David Spears, after serving time on reduce charges of felony child endangerment and hindering prosecution, has been receiving taxpayer money for the past eight years working for the Missouri State Public Defender's office, according to a report today from KSNF/KODE.

The report said Spears was on probation when he was initially hired by the husband of his attorney.

KSN tracked him down but was unable to get Spears to go on the record.

We reached out to David Spears at the Public Defender’s Office in West Plains today to ask if he had a comment about Chris Collings’ execution and he said, “Ma’am, you called me at work. I have no comment. Please don’t call my place of work again.”

According to the Missouri Blue Book for 2023-2024, Spears receives an annual salary of $40,288.

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Anti-abortion lawmakers, activists call on Missouri court to rule against Planned Parenthood

By Anna Spoerre

Missouri Independent

On the eve of a Wednesday hearing seeking to strike down most Missouri abortion restrictions, GOP lawmakers and anti-abortion activists assembled outside five Planned Parenthood clinics around the state to call on the courts to leave abortion regulations in place.

(Photo- State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, protests outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas City on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, ahead of a hearing in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood seeking to overturn the state’s TRAP laws- Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).

At the same time, Republican lawmakers have begun filing some of their first pieces of legislation aimed at weakening or overturning Amendment 3, which was narrowly approved by voters last month and enshrines the right to reproductive health care in the state constitution.

The constitutional amendment, which received 51.6% of the nearly 3 million votes cast, goes into effect Thursday. It prohibits the legislature from regulating abortion prior to the point of fetal viability — generally seen as the point at which a fetus can likely survive outside the womb without extraordinary measures.

Already, at least 11 lawmaker-proposed amendments have been prefiled seeking to reverse Amendment 3 through another vote of the people.

One such bill, filed by Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Arnold, would ask voters to ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors and all abortions with exceptions for medical emergencies and rape.

“Missouri families deserve clarity and compassion in our laws when it comes to protecting

women and safeguarding innocent life like our children from danger,” Coleman said in a statement Tuesday. “These constitutional amendments align with the beliefs of the majority of Missourians when it comes to supporting the dignity and value of all life.”

State Rep. Justin Sparks, a Wildwood Republican, is proposing his own version of a repeal amendment. He said he was inspired to take action by Amendment 3’s close margin of victory.

Sparks’ proposed constitutional amendment would define a “person” as “every human being with a unique DNA code regardless of age, including every in utero human child at every stage of biological development from the moment of conception until birth.”

State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, filed a proposed amendment similar to Coleman’s, but one that also included abortion exceptions for fetal anomalies. It would limit abortions in the cases of rape or incest to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and only if the victim filed a police report.

Such requirements have been widely-criticized in other states, with victim advocates calling such reporting requirements harmful to survivors.

But on Tuesday, standing outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas City with other anti-abortion activists, Brattin said his immediate focus was appealing to the courts to uphold the state’s current “targeted regulation of abortion providers” laws, which previously made it all but impossible for doctors to provide abortions in Missouri.

The laws, enacted over the last several years by the legislature, include a mandatory 72-hour waiting period between the initial appointment and a surgical abortion, mandatory pelvic exams for medication abortions and requirements that providers report all abortions to the state.



“That’s going to be first and foremost, making sure that if they’re operating, they’re operating at the highest level of standard of care,” Brattin said.

Less than 24 hours after Amendment 3 was approved by voters, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers announced a lawsuit seeking to strike down several of these TRAP laws.

The first hearing in the case is set to take place Wednesday afternoon in Jackson County.

The Missouri Secretary of State’s office filed a motion requesting the proceedings be moved to Cole County. Earlier this year, a Cole County judge struck Amendment 3 from the ballot, a decision that was quickly overridden by the Missouri Court of Appeals.

Planned Parenthood leadership has said they hope a quick decision from the judge will allow them to start performing abortions at three health centers across the state — Columbia, the Central West End in St. Louis and the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City — as soon as the new amendment goes into effect.

“Abortion is safe and a very common healthcare procedure,” Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which operates the St. Louis clinics, said in a statement Tuesday. “We know that Missourians across the political spectrum support access to this life-saving care, but anti-abortion extremists are again resorting to false, tired, and previously litigated scare tactics, trying to subvert the will of the people and keep abortion banned.”

A 2018 study by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded that abortion complications are rare, and complications during childbirth remain more common.

Outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis’ Central West End, Brian Westbrook, executive director of Coalition Life, called for the TRAP laws to remain in place “to make sure that women do not go into a place like this and leave in an ambulance headed to the hospital.”



“We stand here today with real, clear evidence that Planned Parenthood is not safe for women and requires serious oversight and inspections, not immunity,” he said.

Westbrook also referenced a 2018 health inspection report that determined equipment in the Columbia clinic included tubing that contained “black mold and bodily fluid.” Planned Parenthood officials later said the equipment had been replaced and the issue resolved.

The Columbia health center ended the procedure in fall 2018 when it could no longer meet a state requirement that doctors performing abortions have admitting privileges at a hospital no more than 15 minutes from the clinic and the clinic’s license expired. After that, until the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022, only one Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri, located in St. Louis, continued to perform abortions.

The St. Louis clinic temporarily lost its licensure as well until May 2020, when then-Missouri Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi ruled that the state health department had to re-issue the license.

“​​Planned Parenthood has demonstrated that it provides safe and legal abortion care,” Dandamudi’s ruling concluded. “In over 4,000 abortions provided since 2018, the Department has only identified two causes to deny its license.”

Westbrook ended Tuesday’s press conference saying he is hopeful the Trump administration will enforce the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that bans the mailing of obscene material, including medications used for abortion.

He also said he supports Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to hold Planned Parenthood accountable.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office recently posed a court challenge to the Planned Parenthood suit. The latest lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Cole County, questions Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ ability to sue, claiming a 2010 settlement agreement prevents them from doing so.

Bailey, in a recent official opinion from his office, argued that while Missouri statutes prohibiting abortion prior to fetal viability will no longer be enforceable in their entirety, the state can still enforce other laws on the books related to abortion.



“In a contest where the ‘yes’ side was able in effect to rewrite the ballot summary language, received tens of millions of dollars in funding from out of state, and outspent the ‘no’ side 6 to 0,” Bailey wrote, “This tight margin suggests the result may be very different if a future constitutional amendment is put up for a vote.”

Missouri State Board of Education votes to lower standards for teachers

(From the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)

Today the Missouri State Board of Education voted to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to change the requirements for some teacher certification areas. The current rule requires a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher in the specific content (i.e. subject) area for which the teacher is seeking certification. 

This proposed amendment to the rule would change the required content GPA from 3.0 to 2.5. Teachers earn content certification to teach most school subjects at the secondary level, as well as some specialty courses, like the arts. Teachers seeking certification in elementary, early childhood, and/or special education will not be affected by this change.

A Missouri researcher evaluated 1,174 teacher candidates from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and found no statistical difference between the first-time certification exam pass rates of candidates with a content GPA between 2.75 and 3.0 and those with a content GPA of 3.0 and above. 

This suggests that the content knowledge of teacher candidates with a higher content GPA does not significantly differ from that of candidates earning a lower content GPA. There is also no data in this research to suggest a correlation between a teacher’s future success in the classroom and a 0.5 difference in GPA.

“As part of a comprehensive effort to address teacher recruitment and retention challenges in Missouri, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been focused on removing unnecessary barriers to the teaching profession,” said Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger. “This research demonstrates we have the potential to expand our pool of future teachers, without concern that student learning and teacher success will be negatively affected.”

 

Proposed changes to administrative rules are open for public comment. That feedback can be emailed to educatorquality@dese.mo.gov or mailed to: DESE, Attn: Paul Katnik, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Educator Quality, P.O. Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480. Comments must be received within 30 days after publication of the notice in the Missouri Register, which is expected on January 15. The order of rulemaking will likely be on the State Board of Education’s agenda for a final vote in March 2025.

The State Board of Education instituted the current GPA requirement for content teacher certifications in 2017. Since establishing the rule, the state has seen a substantial drop in the number of individuals completing the program for these certification types, disproportionately affecting teacher candidates in STEM subjects, where the need for teachers is particularly high. None of Missouri’s eight border states have any type of content GPA requirement for teachers.

U. S. Supreme Court denies stay of execution for Rowan Ford's killer

 

Earlier today, Gov. Mike Parson denied clemency for convicted killer Chris Collings, who is scheduled to be executed 6 p.m. Tuesday for the November 2007 rape and murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford, a Triway Elementary fourth grader.

Now, the U. S. Supreme Court has weighed in, also denying a stay of execution.

Appeals court rejects new trial for Joplin man who murdered his daughter

A Joplin man who shot and killed his daughter January 9, 2022 after she threw a bottle at him during an argument will not receive a new trial.

The Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals today rejected Todd Alan Mayes' claim that a police officer who testified against him should not have been allowed to show how Mayes used the gun. 

During his trial, Mayes claimed he was acting self-defense.

Mayes showed how he held the gun during a taped interview with the police. His lawyer objected when the police officer was allowed to demonstrate since the jury had already seen the video. The judge allowed the demonstration.

Mayes was initially charged with first degree murder, but the jury eventually convicted him on second degree murder and armed criminal action charges.

Sentencing date set for Absolutely Fabulous Boutique owner for trafficking in counterfeit goods

A 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, December 18 sentencing hearing is scheduled in U. S. District Court in Springfield for Monett businesswoman Tara Kingrey, 31, who pleaded guilty in February to trafficking in counterfeit goods.

According to the indictment, Kingrey acknowledged she sold counterfeit Louis Vuitton purses, handbags, wallets, necklaces and other products that were actually manufactured in Hong Kong and China.

Under the plea agreement, the government has agreed not to file any more charges for trafficking in counterfeit goods that have been sold through Kingrey's business.