Greitens signs bills, issues pardons before leaving office

Gov. Eric Greitens reads from a prepared statement as he announces his resignation effective 5 p.m. Friday, June 1, 2018, during a hastily called press conference Tuesday, May 29, 2018, in his Capitol office in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Gov. Eric Greitens reads from a prepared statement as he announces his resignation effective 5 p.m. Friday, June 1, 2018, during a hastily called press conference Tuesday, May 29, 2018, in his Capitol office in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Eric Greitens' official resignation letter was one sentence long.

"I resign the office of Governor effective today, June 1, 2018, at 5:00 p.m.," Greitens said in a letter to Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

He had announced his plan to resign on Tuesday, but the letter was dated Friday.

Before turning over the office to now-Gov. Mike Parson, Greitens signed 77 bills into law, issued five pardons and commuted prison sentences for four others.

Pardons

"The ability to make wrong things right, for Missourians who have not gotten fair treatment from our criminal justice system, is one of the most solemn and precious abilities of a Governor," Greitens said in a news release. "I believe in justice, and I believe that with these actions today - justice will be done."

Among those pardoned was Betty Coleman, convicted in 1981 and given a life prison sentence for helping to kill Kerry Brummett, of Jefferson City, in the late-1970s.

Brummett was a potential witness in a Callaway County burglary case against Doyle Williams - Coleman's boyfriend - and he had Coleman drive Brummett to an area along the Missouri River, in southern Callaway County, for a meeting.

Williams tied Brummett's hands behind his back, then beat him and fired shots at him as Brummett tried to escape into the river. Brummett drowned.

Williams was executed in 1996 for killing a doctor in Auxvasse.

Then-Gov. Bob Holden commuted Coleman's sentence in 2004, but she wasn't released from prison until October 2007.

Greitens said in a news release: "She served 27 years in prison because her abusive boyfriend murdered someone, and she unknowingly and inadvertently played a role in the incident."

Greitens also commuted the sentence of Rodney Lincoln to "time served," noting Lincoln "was wrongly convicted of capital murder and has served 34 years in prison for a (1982) crime he did not commit. DNA evidence and one eyewitness were used to convict him.

"Now, we know the DNA evidence was wrong and the eyewitness - the daughter of the victim - says he is innocent and wants him to be free."

Lincoln was convicted for killing JoAnn Tate in St. Louis and assaulting both of her young daughters.

The Kansas City-based Midwest Innocence Project said it was pleased Lincoln was being released but disappointed Greitens didn't pardon "a free and innocent man."

MIP founder Sean O'Brien, a University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School professor, noted: "Mr. Lincoln's innocence has been repeatedly rebuffed by the courts."

One of those judges was Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green, who ruled against Lincoln's motion to be freed from the Jefferson City Correctional Center in June 2016.

Signing new laws

"Our top priority has always been getting results for the people of Missouri, and our strong agenda has taken Missouri in a new and better direction," Greitens said in the news release announcing he'd signed 77 bills into law. "Today, I'm proud to put my name on many important laws and bold reforms."

Among the new laws is a change in the state's Merit System, making most state government employees "at-will" employees, eliminating the testing that was associated with being ranked in the Merit System in order to get jobs in most - but not all - state agencies and, supporters said, giving administrators more flexibility to hire and promote the people they think will do the best job.

In a Facebook post Friday afternoon, Greitens said: "We reformed our state workforce to make it easier to hire good people, reward the best performance, and shrink government."

He also signed a bill that gives a portion of state-owned land to Jefferson City, so it can build a bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to reach Adrian's Island.

One of the former governor's priorities in his 16 months in office had been improvements to foster care.

"We passed the boldest reforms to Missouri's foster care system in a generation, which the First Lady (Sheena Greitens) and so many worked hard for," he said.

He said his administration and lawmakers "accomplished a lot this year," including succeeding "in delivering our tax cuts to create more jobs and higher pay for Missouri families (and passing) critical efforts to shrink government by getting rid of useless political appointed positions."

Among other bills signed was one changing a basic requirement of the A+ Schools program that began more than 20 years ago - the new law removes the requirement that the student's attendance of public high school occur in the three years immediately prior to graduation.

Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, said Friday evening: "My biggest concern is, I do not know how he was able to evaluate and define each of those bills (and) I'm concerned that some of those bills may have been signed in haste."

But Mid-Missouri Reps. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, and Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, said they didn't share those concerns.

In the lengthy Facebook post, Greitens also said: "Our team accomplished more than anyone ever thought possible. And now, we can look back with pride and forward with confidence."

He said those accomplishments included seeing more than 38,000 new jobs added from January 2017-April 2018, jumping "nine places in the rankings for best states to do business, and (having) the lowest unemployment rate in 18 years."

Greitens again pointed to cutting "burdensome regulations and (getting) the government off people's backs," including eliminating and merging "dozens of boards and commissions, to get rid of 138 politically appointed positions."

The former governor also cited success in passing "tougher penalties for attacks on police officers and first responders."

He also said his administration had "appointed strong, conservative judges to positions around the state - including Missouri's Supreme Court" and had "stood up for people of faith ended the state's policy of discriminating against religious groups purely because of their religious identity."