The case prosecuting the tragic deaths of six Kansas City firefighters was always shaky . . . Today one of the worst parts of that media-fueled prosecution was addressed.
Checkit . . .
Fox4: Judge decides man convicted in 1988 explosion that killed 6 KC firefighters will go free
KMBC: Sentenced reduced for man convicted in 1988 Kansas City fire
KCUR: After Nearly 22 Years In Prison, Defendant In Firefighter Case Will Be Freed
Deets:
"Bryan Sheppard, the man convicted in the deaths of six firefighters in one of the worst explosions ever to rock Kansas City learned on Friday that he will get out of prison. On Friday, the judge decided Sheppard should be resentenced to 'time-served'."
There might be reaction and rage over this one . . . But even a cursory look at the facts and EXCEPTIONAL REPORTING on this case should reveal that it's one of the worst miscarriages of justice in Kansas City history and actually disgraced the memory of brave first responders killed in the line of duty.
Favorite line in a monumental bit of story telling by J.J. Maloney . . .
All five of those convicted are almost certainly innocent of that crime. The five became expendable because of the lives they'd led: being petty thieves, drunks, drug addicts and no-accounts in general.
The firefighter case, in the end, became not so much a search for truth as a quest for closure. Over the years, the pressure for closure had grown intense.
The families of the dead firefighters ached for this dark chapter in their lives to come to an end, so they could go on with their lives. These families had the overwhelming sympathy of the people of Kansas City.
The firefighters of Kansas City needed to know that you couldn't just kill six firemen and get away with it.
Sadly, what happened in this case was a very real message that politics and public perception were more important than facts as the cowtown social pecking order was enforced by the prison industrial complex at the outset of an uptick of a great many people locked away unjustly.
Developing . . .
This degenerate will be back in the clink within a year.
ReplyDeleteI think if someone would fact check this story they will discover that there was nothing the judge did relating to this guy being, allegedly, wrongly convicted. The judge left the conviction and simply released this guy with time served. So he is still a convicted violent felon. This means his conviction can be used to calculate his sentence in the future should he step on his dick.
ReplyDeleteNone of them were guilty.
ReplyDeleteAgreed
DeleteVery Cool.
ReplyDeleteThey were guilty of being white trash and of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kansas City needed somebody to blame and send away.
ReplyDeleteThe day before this incident, I had just dropped 24 tons of AB3 to that Job Site, not 150 feet from those trailers, it was cool and misting rain.
ReplyDeleteGot off work, and was laying in bed wayyyy over in Johnson County , Merriam to be exact that early morning when I heard a loud clap of thunder, or what I thought was thunder,,,,,
it actually rumbled the house and the entire neighborhood,,,
wasn't until later that morning that we learned what actually happened.
I had delievered that 24 tons of AB3 to a Construction company what was then known back in 1988, as Mountain Plains Construction ,,,,
They more less were the general Contractor on that site.
Later Mountain Plains Construction was brought into the lawsuit and legal fiasco's , and had to file Bankruptcy and were eventually forced out of business thru fines and the law suits.
I remember seeing the trailers parked there, but didn't know what was inside them and I was less than 150 feet away from them.
Can only imagine what would of happened would they have gone off while I was dumping my load of AB3,,, I'd been vaporized turned into Dust and ashes ,,,,,,
This is the 1st time and only time I've ever publically told this story.
Justly convicted, but the sentencing was amended following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that juveniles lack the maturity to evaluate consequences.
ReplyDeleteThe real question is whether he was correctly convicted, or were they easier to go after than other suspects. The area's most respected journalists have rightly raised troubling questions that may never be fully answered.
I'm NOT defending this guy , nor saying he's guilty or innocent, I just plain don't know.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do remember, is that November back in 1988, the skies were cloudy & over cast and misting rain and the temps cool
There was a slight chance of lite thunder storms thru out the evening that November.
there was a lite mist of rain in the air that early morning and the day before as well.
Those trailers were packed full of Dynamite supposedly TNT in wooden boxes marked Explosives.
Now I know from being around mining operations and quarrys, that sometimes, tho its unusual circumstances, but it has happened,,,,,
that static electricity at the correct moment can set off TNT / Dynamite.
and givin the chances of lite thunderstorms in the area at that particular time frame, it may have been possible that a static charge of lightining near, or close ny those trailers set off the explosion that killed those fire fighters.
those Fire Trucks as I recall from video news on TV back in 1988 were totally & completely damn near vaporized, those trucks parked closest to the trailers were literally destroyed , worse than what happened to those fire trucks on the events of 911, back on 2001.
Freak Lightining has set off explosions before involving TNT & Dynamite, tho uncommon and unusual , if properly stored correctly !!!
But who knows if the TNT / Dynamite was properly stored so that static electricity would affect it ?????
It doesn't take much to set it off, and with several trilers with TNT / Dynamite , its a disaster waiting to happen !
1 good thing that did come out of all this, for those that don't know or forgot is, after this tragic event, Nationwide buildings and constructuion are required to carry those traingles on the sides of buildings , ya' know those red, blue, yellow triangle with the numbers on them indicating what type of explosive chemicals or corrosives are inside the buildings, so that if there is an emergency, when fire fighters arrive on scene they are quickly able to ascertain whats inside the building that may be dangerous !
I can't say rather these guys are guilty or not guilty, hell if I know, cause I don't, and I don't remember seeing any kids on the job site or hanging around the job site the day before, that I can recall.
OK, I did some digging,, just now and came up with this as I Affirmed earlier in the statements above.
ReplyDeleteas follows :
In a jury trial conducted by a magistrate judge,1 Norman W. Collins, James M. McReynolds, and "Mountain Plains Construction, Inc". were convicted of the improper storage of explosives and the failure to notify the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms after acquisition of explosive magazines, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 842(j), 844(b), and 2(a). The district court,2 756 F.Supp. 1253, affirmed the jury verdict, and Collins, McReynolds, and Mountain Plains appeal. We affirm.
Further link to the above court Docket info here :
LINK : https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/949/949.F2d.1029.91-1283.html
used to drink with those boys at the old dodson tavern at 85th and troost. they were onery but not enough to kill someone. they were rail roaded.
ReplyDeleteya they didnt check your i d very close in those days
They were scapegoats for sure. They were shit heads, but not guilty of that crime. Really story is KCFD needed to look in their own back yard. That never happened.
ReplyDeleteLiberal judges are ruining this country. More criminals set free
ReplyDeleteThey are innocent and even Ray Charles can see that! The government took five life's away from their families and the real perpetrators are still out roaming the land. That's Wrong completely
DeleteListen to yourself man You need Christ in your life 4 real. They are INNOCENT. You don't know splif
DeleteSecurity guard torched a truck which was going way behind on payments. Figured since the job was continually being robbed it was a cake walk.
ReplyDeleteSame FBI agent who ordered the assassinations of Vickie and Sam Weaver, was part of the "brain trust" at Waco misled and lied to the accused.
He now teaches ethics to new FBI recruits in St Louis.
Trump said it, the US has murderers in government just like the Russians.
This scumbag should remain in jail for the rest of his life! The entire family is nothing but criminals and always has been. The minute I heard about the explosion my first thought was...the sheppards are involved. All of them are trash and thugs.
ReplyDeleteWwjd
DeleteYour a trashy person inside and out huh!!!!!! Yeah YOU are. Don't talk about people like that ITS WRONG!
DeleteTerrible miscarriage of justice. Any bets on how long before this POS is once again involved in criminal activity? From the looks of that white trash crowd that was at the courthouse probably not too long.
ReplyDeleteWwjd
DeleteLets have a trial in this blog. That is the intelligent thing to do!!!
ReplyDeleteThe five people accused are certainly innocent and the government needs to catch the real people responsible for this. The problem here is not the defendants it's people willing to through five lives in the trash without getting the real people responsible. It's a real shame
ReplyDelete