A St. Louis man sentenced to 25 years in prison based solely on the testimony of one police officer is asking a federal court to vacate his conviction.
Kurtis Watkins, a 35-year-old Black man, was found guilty on nine felony counts related to a 2013 shooting in the Dutchtown neighborhood of St. Louis.
Watkins denies any involvement, and the only evidence tying him to the crime was an eyewitness account from a white police officer named Steven Pinkerton.
Watkins鈥� attorney filed a Monday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri arguing the conviction violates federal law after new evidence about Pinkerton鈥檚 past came to light last month
The Independent found that Pinkerton had a history of racist social media posts denigrating Black people. And less than a year prior to Watkins鈥� arrest, Pinkerton placed a banned chokehold on a Black man he mistakenly believed was the suspect in an earlier robbery.
The man
Neither the social media posts nor the mistaken identification was disclosed to Watkins鈥� attorneys or the jury at trial, something Watkins鈥� attorney says would have undermined Pinkerton鈥檚 credibility as a witness.
鈥淎 reasonable fact finder would have acquitted Mr. Watkins of all charges,鈥� Jonathan Sternberg, Watkins鈥� attorney, wrote in the petition.
The petition asks for the court to hold an evidentiary hearing, issue a writ of habeas corpus and vacate the conviction on two grounds.
First, it argues Watkins鈥� attorney at the original trial was constitutionally ineffective because he failed to call the friend Watkins was with that night to testify. Second, it argues the state violated rules of evidence disclosure in failing to turn over credibility evidence about Pinkerton鈥檚 past.
The law, under the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in the 1963 v. Maryland case, requires prosecutors to notify defense attorneys of credibility issues with witnesses when they could materially affect the outcome of a case.
The petition also includes a new piece of information about Pinkerton provided to Watkins鈥� attorney by a retired judge.
Former St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison reached out to Sternberg after The Independent鈥檚 investigation was published, according to the petition. Burlison relayed an account of Pinkerton鈥檚 behavior in his courtroom when Pinkerton was being considered for a jury in 2017. Burlison provided a of the interaction.
During jury selection, Pinkerton told lawyers he didn鈥檛 think he鈥檇 be able to follow the law as instructed by the judge.
Burlison then took what the petition calls the 鈥渆xtraordinary step鈥� of calling Pinkerton into the chambers to discuss those statements. Pinkerton鈥檚 comments regarding what he and Burlison agreed could be seen as 鈥渟elective enforcement of the law鈥� by an officer prompted Burlison to say, according to the transcript: 鈥淥fficer, you and I don鈥檛 know each other, but I鈥檓 embarrassed for you and the St. Louis department.鈥�
The incident occurred after Watkins鈥� trial, so it wouldn鈥檛 be considered evidence the state failed to turn over. But Sternberg argues it 鈥渟hows Officer Pinkerton鈥檚 bias is not limited to a few statements on social media, nor isolated to his personal life.鈥�
Neither Burlison nor Pinkerton responded to requests for comment.
Pinkerton left the St. Louis Metro Police in 2021 and is now an officer at the Moscow Mills Police Department, which also didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment.
The habeas case was assigned to a magistrate judge, . Both Watkins and the state need to consent to the judge and if not, the case will be reassigned to one of the federal district judges. Sternberg said they鈥檙e consenting to the judge, and the attorney general鈥檚 office didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment.
Holmes is a former federal public defender and assistant U.S. attorney.
The judge will then set a deadline for the attorney general鈥檚 office to file a response to the habeas petition 鈥� usually with a 30-day deadline. Sternberg will then reply to that, and the judge will decide the case.
The judge could decide to hold an evidentiary hearing, which Sternberg said would allow them to prove their claims about Pinkerton, since they鈥檙e new claims no previous courts have evaluated. The judge could allow discovery. The judge could also grant or deny the petition outright.
Sternberg said habeas cases can take months or years and that he can鈥檛 predict the timeline for this.
Several legal experts have Watkins鈥� case has strong claims, but that winning a habeas petition is often procedurally challenging.
Sean O鈥橞rien, a law professor at University of Missouri-Kansas City who has worked on several high-profile wrongful conviction cases, said the habeas process is 鈥渧ery restricted, very procedurally complex and very unforgiving.鈥�
Watkins鈥� attorney also plans to submit his case for review by the St. Louis city circuit attorney鈥檚 conviction integrity unit, which can file motions to set aside or vacate judgments they find to be in error.
O鈥橞rien said the conviction integrity unit is a 鈥渧ery important avenue to pursue鈥� in this case.
Watkins said, from prison, he鈥檚 鈥渇eeling hopeful鈥� and dreams of the day he鈥檒l walk out the doors.
Alibi witness
The shooting Watkins was convicted of took place outside an apartment building on Osage St. and Louisiana Ave., in Dutchtown (Source: St. Louis Metro Police Department records request).The petition argues that Watkins鈥� original public defender was ineffective for failing to call his friend, Christopher Ransfer, as an alibi witness.
Watkins was at Ransfer鈥檚 house the night of the shooting from 7 p.m. until around 12:30 a.m. before leaving to walk to the convenience store for liquor, according to Ransfer鈥檚 testimony at a post-conviction relief hearing in 2021. The shooting happened just past midnight, the prosecutor said during Watkins鈥� original trial.
Ransfer said he would have testified at Watkins鈥� original trial if Watkins鈥� attorney had called him.
鈥淪imply put,鈥� the petition states, 鈥渋f the jury had heard and believed Mr. Ransfer, it would have had a reasonable doubt as to Mr. Watkins鈥� involvement and acquitted him. 鈥�
But a state court of appeals in late 2023 that argument in part on the basis that Sternberg hadn鈥檛 filed paperwork correctly. Sternberg wrote in the petition that 鈥渢he record shows counsel clearly timely and properly deposited the letter.鈥�
Credibility
The petition argues Watkins鈥� right to due process and a fair trial were violated by the state鈥檚 failure to disclose Pinkerton鈥檚 鈥渆xtreme history of making discriminatory remarks targeted at black people and engaging in discriminatory behaviors when acting as a law enforcement officer.鈥�
In 2017, Pinkerton was admonished by Judge Rex Burlison and dismissed from jury duty because of his comments on selective enforcement of the law, according to the petition.
Pinkerton told lawyers during jury selection that he didn鈥檛 think he鈥檇 be able to follow the law as instructed by the judge.
鈥淲hat kind of example [do] you think that鈥rovided for the other 57 people when twice today you said that you would be the one to decide whether you follow the court鈥檚 instructions?鈥� Burlison asked, according to the transcript of the proceeding.
Pinkerton said he had 鈥渉is own rational thoughts and feelings on that subject.鈥�
When asked whether that鈥檚 how he enforces laws as an officer 鈥� with his own thoughts 鈥� Pinkerton said: 鈥淭here is some level of discretion in doing police work.鈥�
When the judge asked whether Pinkerton thought other potential jurors could鈥檝e seen his answers as 鈥渟elective enforcement of the law by you,鈥� Pinkerton said, 鈥淚 guess they could, yes.鈥�
Burlison removed him from the case.
This story was originally published by the , part of the States Newsroom.
