MEDIA CONTACT:
Justin Scott
Scott Communications
816.809.3116
justin@scott-comms.com
www.scott-comms.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kansas Court Declares Floyd S. Bledsoe Innocent,
Vacates First-Degree Murder Charge
Jefferson County Court releases Bledsoe from prison, dismisses 1999
murder charge of his 14-year-old sister-in-law near Oskaloosa, Kan.
Kansas City, Mo. (Dec. 9, 2015) – The Midwest Innocence Project (MIP), a not-for-profit corporation
dedicated to the investigation, litigation and exoneration of wrongfully convicted men and women, in
partnership with the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas School of Law,
announces that Floyd S. Bledsoe is innocent and left prison yesterday after the Second Judicial District
Court in Jefferson County, Kan. overturned his 2000 conviction for first-degree murder.
“We commend law enforcement and the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office for their support in
releasing an innocent man today,” said Alice Craig, attorney for Bledsoe and professor at the Paul E.
Wilson Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas School of Law. “Floyd Bledsoe has declared
his innocence for more than 16 years, with the support of a number of lawyers and law students,
including the Midwest Innocence Project. We are thankful that today a court finally joined him in that
declaration.”
Bledsoe, who was sentenced to life in prison at the Lansing (Kan.) Correctional Facility in 2000, was
eventually released, but then imprisoned again when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated his
conviction because of the legal standard of review. Bledsoe was convicted with the murder of his sisterin-law, despite a verified alibi and no physical evidence connecting Bledsoe to the crime. During
Bledsoe’s trial (Bledsoe v. State, 283 Kan. 81 2007), the State of Kansas rested its case in large part on
Bledsoe’s brother, Tom Bledsoe, who committed suicide in his car in Bonner Springs, Kan. on Nov. 9.
“Although all evidence available at the time connected Tom Bledsoe to the victim’s disappearance and
death, Tom testified against Floyd and was never charged in connection with the crime,” said Tricia
Bushnell, legal director of the MIP. “Evidence available at trial and presented in Bledsoe’s earlier appeal
establishes that Tom and his father led police to the body, that Tom’s gun was used to kill the victim,
that Tom had bought bullets on the day of the crime, and that Tom left various confessions on his
pastor’s voicemail.”
In October 2012, the Court allowed DNA testing to proceed in the case. The lab report entered into
evidence at a hearing today showed that Tom Bledsoe’s DNA is consistent with the semen found on the
vaginal swab taken from the victim. The report also showed that the DNA of Floyd L. Bledsoe, the
father of Floyd and Tom, was found on the victim’s socks in a location that is consistent with her having
been drug to the trash dump on the father’s property, according to the defense motion.
MORE
Floyd S. Bledsoe Innocent – Page 2
New evidence presented at an evidentiary hearing yesterday also connected Tom Bledsoe to the crime,
including his confession and proclamation of Floyd’s innocence in a suicide letter. Additionally, Tom
Bledsoe drew a map of the crime in his suicide note and indicated where detectives could locate a shell
casing from the gun used in the murder.
“We appreciate the efforts of both law enforcement and the Jefferson County Attorney’s office in
working with us and supporting Floyd’s motion,” said Tricia Bushnell, legal director of the MIP.
“Floyd’s case is a testament to the long, difficult and expensive process it takes to overturn a wrongful
conviction.”
Recent independent studies conservatively estimate that between 2 and 5 percent of inmates in the
United States are innocent, with some estimates reaching up to 7 percent. Based on the approximately
72,000 people imprisoned in the MIP’s five-state area, this means that between 2,000 and 7,000 people
are currently locked behind bars for crimes they did not commit.
On average, it takes seven to 10 years to exonerate an innocent prisoner, at an average cost of $325,000.
The MIP is currently litigating six cases and has 600 cases on its waiting list. A report from the National
Registry of Exonerations revealed 2014 as a record year, overturning 125 wrongful convictions in the
United States, two of which in the Midwest (Missouri and Iowa).
In addition to its partnership with the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas
School of Law, the MIP also partners with the University of Missouri (Kansas City) and (Columbia)
Schools of Law. These law schools provide invaluable student resources to assist with the research
involved in complex cases. Students involved in this case included: Emily Barclay, Peter Conley, Rich
Klein, Dustin Bradley, Kaiti Smith, Mike Kelley, Emily Brown, Ashley Epperly, Sara Pfeiffer and
Johnathon Rulen. Additionally, lawyers Jean Phillips and Elizabeth Cateforis worked most recently on
the case, along with previous counsel from Mary Curtis, Richard Ney, Jessica Kuhen and David Miller.
About the Midwest Innocence Project
The Midwest Innocence Project (MIP) is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the investigation,
litigation and exoneration of wrongfully convicted men and women in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas,
Iowa, and Nebraska. The Midwest Innocence Project was founded at the University of Missouri –
Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law in 2000 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and operates today as
an independent organization in partnership with the University of Missouri (Kansas City) and
(Columbia) Schools of Law, the University of Kansas and local legal communities. The MIP is a
licensed organization of the Innocence Project founded at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at
Yeshiva University in 1992 and works with 68 similar organizations around the world in coordinating
legal work and education efforts. For more information, please visit www.themip.org.
About the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence
The Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas Law School was founded by
former KU Law Professor Paul E. Wilson as the Defender Project in 1965 to help prisoners who
otherwise might not receive legal representation. Students in the clinic represent state and federal
prisoners in appellate and post-conviction litigation in state and federal courts. Since 2009, students in
the Project have won at least 28 conviction reversals. That same year, a project team won a rare grant of
executive clemency for a man convicted of robbery during a racially charged civil rights-era trial in
Wichita, Kan. The project gets more than 200 letters a year from inmates seeking assistance. For more
information, please visit www.law.ku.edu/innocence-project.
END