93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner tells clergy members and other supporters that she doesn’t care if she has anyone left in her office.
St. Louis television station KSDK quotes Gardner as saying there’s a witch hunt against her. Gardner told a crowd of about 60 supporters at St. Louis’ Central Baptist Church that she’s not resigning and will have to be removed from office.
Missouri GOP Attorney General Andrew Bailey blasted Gardner on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”, saying she is dedicated to dismantling the criminal justice system by not doing anything at all.
“It’s caused 500 businesses to leave downtown St. Louis in the past several years because of crime. And 96 percent, 96 percent of criminal offenses reported to the (St. Louis) police department do not result in criminal charges,” Bailey says.
General Bailey says Gardner should be removed from office. KSDK quotes Gardner as telling the church audience that she’s “been criminalized every day because of my black skin, because I’m black.” Gardner also tells the audience that she’s not fearful of what she calls lies.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Noble describes St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office as “a rudderless ship of chaos” and says Gardner appears to have “complete indifference and a conscious disregard for the judicial process.” General Bailey disagrees with Gardner’s comments about race.
“There are African-American elected officials in the city who have also called for her to go. Certainly Judge Michael Noble is an African-American male. This has nothing to do with race. And there’s an important color here … it’s red. The blood running in the streets of St. Louis is consistently red,” Bailey says.
KSDK’s Mark Maxwell quotes Gardner as telling clergy members that her office is “trying to change the Titanic of a ship to be fair and just, because I don’t want any more Lamar Johnson’s.” Johnson spent 28 years in prison for a St. Louis murder before a judge overturned his conviction. Her comments indicate she believes there are other innocent people in Missouri prisons.
