Announcements
  by the Free Ryan Ferguson Committee
 

Should any new updates or new announcements become available regarding Ryan's case, we will be posting that information here.

Important ANNOUNCEMENT !!!     3-8-10

The Western District Court of Appeals decided on March 2, 2010 to take into consideration Erickson's latest statement admitting that he alone murdered the victim and that Ryan had nothing to do with this crime. Erickson said he committed perjury when he testified against Ryan during the trial in 2005.

In their decision to not remand the case back to Boone County, the Western District Court has now taken the decision away from Judge Asel and the Boone County Court. The Western District Court will make their own ruling as to whether or not to grant Ryan a new trial.

"This was our Number hope, but we didn't really think it would happen." Ryan Ferguson's lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, said Tuesday.

In a brief filed with the appellate court, Zellner argues that the wording and content of Boone County Circuit Judge Jodie Asel's 2009 decision not to grant Ferguson a new trial is almost identical to the prosecutor's proposed findings.
In an interview, Zellner said this was "highly improper".

New Web Site Related to the current motion since Charles Erickson's Sworn Murder and perjury Confession

Columbia Tribune
March 2, 2010
 Court agrees to consider new deposition in murder case appeal
 
Schedule:
The state has 30 days to respond to Ryan's brief dated February 19, 2010.
State's Response due March 19.

Ryan's attorney will then have 14 days to respond to the State.
Next the Western District Court of Appeals will schedule Oral Arguments.  
 We are guessing this might be set for June or July.
 
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT !!!     2-9-10
First we want to thank each of you for your tremendous support. Ryan is doing well and wanted to extend his thanks to each of you for your well wishes, prayers and continued help in getting the truth out about his case.
As of Monday morning Ryan's attorney filed a motion to remand Charles Erickson latest statement to the local court asking that it be entered as evidence as a part of the brief requesting a new trial
The Western District Court of Appeals will be deciding whether to remand Ryan's motion to the Boone County Court. If this should occur Charles Erickson will be questioned under oath in the local court. We are being told this decision will be made in the next 5 days. If Erickson's statement is not remanded we would continue with our brief, which is due February 16 and we would submit the Erickson Video Statement at a later date.
 
48 Hours has been in contact and wants to do a follow-up program
as an update to Ryan's case.
 
IMPORTANT UPDATE !!!     7-17-09

Judge Asel sat on her decision regarding Ryan's 29.15 appeal for 11 months.  Her decision to deny Ryan a new trial was entered on June 12, 2009.  This decision did not surprise us when we took into consideration the relationship Judge Asel has with the former prosecutor (now judge) Kevin Crane.  Judge Asel's husband is an executive in the same company which is owned by Kevin Crane's father-in-law to be.  In light of this relationship it seems that Judge Asel should have recused herself from this case.  It is shocking to us that this kind of impropriety is allowed within our judicial system.  We are currently appealing her decision.
 
 
HABEAS PETITION UPDATE !!!     1-09-09

Judge Callahan handed down his decision on January 9, 2009 concerning the jury issue, which was on appeal in Cole County.  He ruled against Ryan by denying his habeas petition. Judge Callahan found that our claim was procedurally barred in a habeas petition because it should have been brought up earlier. He says that too much time has passed and we should have presented this information way back during the trial. 

Ryan's lawyers did not discover this information until July of 2008, three years after the trial.  The judge also found that, although the seating of the jury was not in compliance with the statute, it was not "substantial noncompliance" because it was only 13 people out of the 848 called. This was disappointing news but we will appeal this decision. 

Meanwhile Judge Asel in Boone County is now free to make her decision regarding Ryan's Ineffective Assistance 29.15 Appeal.  We are hoping for her positive decision to be made soon.
 
 
IMPORTANT UPDATE !!!     12-19-08

As you may know an evidentiary hearing was held in Cole County before Judge Callahan on Monday, December 15. Evidence was presented pertaining to the issue of the Lincoln County judge allowing members of the jury pool at the time of Ryan's trial to buy their way off jury duty.

his is a violation of Missouri Law and a violation of Ryan’s constitutional rights to Due Process and Equal Protection under the law. We feel the hearing went well. Both sides have until January 5, 2009 to turn in their summaries. Then we await yet another decision from the court.

Ryan is now waiting for decisions from both Boone and Cole County to determine if he will receive a new trial.

For more information please ---- click here
 
IMPORTANT UPDATE !!!     9-08-08

Ryan's attorney was back in court on Sept 2, with a new motion arguing that the jury selection process in the 2005 trial had been improper and violated Ryan's constitutional rights.  It was discovered that the judge in Lincoln County, which is where Ryan's jury was selected, had allowed members from the jury pool to pay $50 and do 6 hours of community service instead of serving jury duty.  12 members of Ryan's jury pool took advantage of this process.   No one had ever heard of a judge doing something like this before. This denied Ryan the right to a jury composed of a random cross section of the community.  Judge Asel decided not to rule on this issue this week but instead passed it on to Cole County where it would have to be filed as a habeas corpus petition. 

Here is a link to the article published this week regarding this issue... click here
It seems that new information keeps turning up in Ryan's case.  When Ryan is finally set free we are confident that his case is going to expose so much of what is wrong with our legal system.
 
--- Ryan's Hearing ---

Ryan's hearing in July shed new light on his case. Many witnesses who never took the stand in the 2005 trial got a chance to testify during this hearing. The evidence was overwhelmingly in Ryan's favor, giving additional proof that he had absolutely nothing to do with this horrific crime. Dallas Mallory and Shawna Ornt took the stand and spoke of the intimidation tactics used by the police and the prosecutor. Shawna Ornt testified that the two suspects she saw in the parking lot were not Ryan or Chuck. Dallas Mallory testified that he never saw or spoke to Chuck or Ryan that morning. These are but a few of the witnesses that spoke to Ryan's innocence.

When the police and prosecutor took the stand it was easy to see from their demeanor that they had their reputations to protect and would continue to try to cover for the deceptive roles they played in getting Ryan convicted.

A good example is the link below of Former Prosecutor Crane testifying on the last day of the hearing July 18, 2008.

Ryan's attorney, Val Leftwich, was given 60 days to write up her summation. Then the assistant prosecutor has an additional two week before it is submitted to Judge Asel. Once it is in Asel's hands she has an undetermined amount of time to make her decision. We are hopeful that we will know something by Christmas. A supporter who works as a private producer has made two YouTube videos to help increase awareness about Ryan's case and plans to produce a complete documentary in the near future.

We could use additional funds to help pay for the production costs.
-----------------------------------
Links to the YouTube videos, Kevin Crane, and the photgraph are below:

- New evidence and testimony in Ryan's Hearing 16-18 July (Part I)
- New evidence and testimony in Ryan's Hearing 16-18 July (Part II)
- Crane lying under oath 7-18-08
- Photograph in question
 

As of March 10,  2008 UPDATE ! ---  Ryan's motion for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, amended rule 29.15 to vacate judgement and sentence, was filed March 3, 2008 with the Boone County Circuit Court. A hearing is currently set for May 6, 2008 but is subject to change.  A copy of the 86 page motion which also outlines several Brady violations is available through the link below.  We are optimistic about the motion and feel the truth is finally coming out.

If you will follow the instructions below, you can get a copy of Ryan's 29.15 appeal.

Here is the site: http://rmri.no-ip.org/mydms

User ID: guest
Password: guest

Follow this path: RMRI Inc Private Investigator Files For The Public / RMRI Inc Public Articles / Ryan Ferguson Case / Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Appeal / Ryan Ferguson Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Appeal
 

As of January 22,  2008 UPDATE ! ---  Ryan's attorney, Val Leftwich, filed several motions with the Boone County Circuit Court. One motion pertained to the DNA and fingerprints in the case. Two others pertained to obtaining Erickson's mental health records as well as a request for a current mental health evaluation.

We visit Ryan every week and he continues to stay strong. We are all encouraged and know that it is just a matter of time before his innocence is proven. In the next 2 months his attorney will present the results of their investigation to the court. We want to thank each of you for your continued support.

 

November,  2007 Ryan filed a motion for ineffective assistance for counsel. At this level of the appeal new evidence can be introduced and witnesses can be subpoenaed and deposed. This will be our first opportunity to present new and crucial evidence that will prove Ryan's innocence.

We would like to thank everyone for their support and comments. We know Ryan is innocent and with your unwavering support we will free him from this appalling injustice. The conviction of innocent people happens more than we realize. 

48 Hours Mystery 'Dream Killer'  video is still available online.
 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/16/48hours/main1322783.shtml 

Please feel free to contact us anytime at freeryanferguson@aol.com.
Bill, Leslie and Kelly Ferguson 

Someone suggested that we create a flyer to post for Ryan.
We now have one and thank you if you do post it.
 click here for the flyer


Thank you for your support