AltWeeklies Wire
Missouri's Death Penalty May Not Outlive Dennis Skillicorn Very Longnew

Two bills in Missouri's Legislature have proposed a moratorium on the death penalty and a review board to examine issues such as cost, fairness and the risk of wrongful execution.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
05-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Christian Former Cops Fight a Battle of Wit, Skill and Strategy with Imaginary School Shootersnew

Since a 2006 school shooting in Missouri, the state has been trying to get Missouri's schools prepared for another attack. Beating out more than a dozen agencies across the country for the one-year, $100,000 contract was Christian security firm Strategos.
The Pitch |
Peter Rugg |
03-17-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Fields of Plasticnew
Researchers Brian Mooney and Douglas Randall are looking into growing plastic along the fringes of Missouri farmland.
Riverfront Times |
Kristen Hinman |
03-13-2009 |
Environment
A Southwest Missouri Hamlet is Leading the Latest Fight to Legalize Medical Marijuananew
Cliff Village has become the second Missouri city to legalize marijuana for medical use. But with a population in the double-digits and a local sheriff who vows to lock up any pot smoker he can find, the town's 30-year-old mayor, Joe Blundell, concedes that the move is "symbolism, pure and simple."
Riverfront Times |
Keegan Hamilton |
02-20-2009 |
Drugs
Conservative States Push Abstinence Education, to Questionable Resultsnew
What happens when the behavior doesn't match the lesson plan? A professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is co-writing a book that attempts to come up with an answer.
The Unsolved Murder of Ernie Brasiernew
A Clayton, Mo., attorney's death nearly two years ago continues to mystify police and colleagues.
Riverfront Times |
Kathleen McLaughlin |
10-03-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Free at Last: Darryl Burton's Thoughts After 24 Years Behind Barsnew
For the St. Louis native, who was released from prison last week after a judge overturned Burton's murder conviction, freedom means he now reports only to himself.
Riverfront Times |
Matt Kasper |
09-12-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Perverts Beware: St. Louis Area Police Have Your Numbernew

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway has made prosecuting child pornography offenders a top priority since her appointment in July 2005. For the fiscal year that will end on September 30, the justice department predicts that Eastern Missouri will have generated 76 child-exploitation cases, making it second only to central California.
Riverfront Times |
Kathleen McLaughlin |
09-05-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Recent Tiger Attacks Have Some in Missouri Calling for Tougher Exotic Animal Lawsnew
Missouri is one of 23 states that permit individuals to keep tigers and other big cats as pets. State law says only that owners must register their animals with a local law enforcement agency and that failure to do so is a misdemeanor.
Riverfront Times |
Keegan Hamilton |
08-22-2008 |
Animal Issues
One Missouri Midwife, Now That Her Trade is Legal, Decides to Advertisenew
Dana Albillo is doing something no one in St. Louis' underground home-birth network ever dared -- she's advertising. Soon after the Missouri Supreme Court ended the state's 48-year prohibition on non-medical professionals helping to deliver babies, Albillo bought an ad in AT&T's Yellow Pages for her fledgling business, Common Ground Midwifery Services.
Riverfront Times |
Kathleen McLaughlin |
08-01-2008 |
Sex
Missouri DOT Tosses Cyclists Over the Handlebarsnew

The bill killed by the state's Department of Transportation would've required the state to put up signs reminding motorists to watch out for bicycles.
The Pitch |
Carolyn Szczepanski |
04-22-2008 |
Transportation
Pray the Gay Awaynew
Pastor Jim Venice, who was once gay himself, says he can turn homos into heteros. Credit cards are welcome.
Riverfront Times |
Chad Garrison |
12-20-2005 |
Religion
Double Trouble in Court for Lookalike Cousinsnew
After two people got shot outside a Missouri nightclub, Jack Haley was sent away for a long time. But he says his only crime was looking too much like the real shooter.
The Pitch |
Bryan Noonan |
12-13-2005 |
Crime & Justice
Parents Question Police Version of Their Daughter's Murdernew
A young woman's parents have doubts about investigators' conclusion that she was killed by her much older racketeer boyfriend, who then killed himself. First of two parts
Riverfront Times |
Malcolm Gay |
12-06-2005 |
Crime & Justice
Fowl-Offal Plant Emits an Awful, Foul Odornew

Neighbors are complaining of the stench from a first-of-its-kind facility designed to convert turkey offal into oils, gas and minerals for use as fuel and fertilizer.
The Pitch |
David Martin |
11-30-2005 |
Environment