Missouri proposes online list of murderers out on probation

(The Center Square) – Missouri residents soon could see whether any paroled murderers live in their neighborhoods.

State representatives could hear House Bill 1705, which would create a separate list to Missouri’s sex offender registry that names parolees out of prison for first- or second-degree murder. The offenders would see their names fall off of the list once their parole time has been served.

Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, said his bill would not intermingle the sex offender list with the tally of paroled murderers.

“It does not mix the data,” he said. “It would rename the registry, ‘sex offender and violent offender registry.’”

The bill passed in committee March 8 with bipartisan support.

Roberts said the list would allow the public to know who is on parole for first- and second-degree murder; a list already compiled by law enforcement. The bill would require the state highway patrol to maintain the data, which includes adding parolees who transfer from other states that Missouri has an interstate compact, which allows such travel.

A fiscal note estimated the list would cost up to $685,000 annually once fully implemented.

Rep. Rasheen Aldridge Jr., D-St. Louis, questioned whether the list would be worth the stigma over people attempting to reintegrate back into society after serving a prison sentence.

“Once they do do their time and we say, ‘second chances,’ and we believe in second chances, that this is kind of giving them a second chance but also saying, ‘watch out for Tim down the street,’ ” Aldridge said in another hearing on the bill.

The bill has the support of Mona Lisa Caylor, who testified in committee that her sister, Willana “Anita” Dunn, was killed by a paroled murderer in 2016. According to the Joplin Globe, Todd Greathouse was convicted in 2017 of strangling Dunn and dropping her down an abandoned mineshaft. Caylor said Greathouse was a paroled murderer from a 1983 conviction in Tennessee.

Marcel Hagens of Action St. Louis said the list would make it more difficult for rehabilitating community members to return to society.

“Our community members deserve compassionate rehabilitation that does not seek to ostracize them from society, but instead helps them lead healthy, thriving lives,” he said, adding that the list would also contain offenders who were paroled for reasons of mental health.

The bill needs one more committee approval before it can be considered on the House floor.

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