The liberal Huffington Post blog has waded into Missouri’s Republican governor’s primary. With Congressman Hulshof recently releasing an ad touting his experience as a prosecutor- and his success at trying death penalty cases – the Associated Press performed a review of court dockets, state and federal appellate decisions and other legal records that shows that in four cases over a seven-year period, prosecutorial errors by Hulshof led to death sentence reversals.

From the Huffington Post:

Another man accused of murder won acquittal at a second trial after his Hulshof-prosecuted conviction was rejected on appeal. A sixth defendant sentenced to life in prison without parole briefly won his freedom when his conviction was thrown out by a federal judge, although it was later restored.

And a sheriff who helped Hulshof convict a man in the 1992 killing of a college student has reopened the investigation into her violent death. On Monday, a judge will hear a request for a new trial in that case. No appeals court has faulted Hulshof’s conduct in that case.

Hulshof’s errors cited by appeals courts often occurred during closing arguments, or in a trial’s penalty phase. Judges said Hulshof too readily embellished arguments with his own opinions, or with facts outside the court record.

In one case, a murder conviction was tossed because a highway map given to jurors during deliberations hadn’t been introduced as evidence. In another, an undated note from a woman allegedly killed by her husband describing the couples’ marital troubles was rejected as hearsay by an appeals court after Hulshof introduced it as evidence.

With the death penalty enjoying bipartisan support in Missouri -Jay Nixon having been a long time supporter – Hulshof’s ad was clearly aimed at Republican primary voters. But in a general election against Jay Nixon, Nixon will be able to use Hulshof’s errors to drive a further wedge between Hulshof and African Americans.

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