An appeals court on Tuesday overturned the conviction against Ryan Ferguson, who is serving a 40-year prison sentence in the 2001 strangulation death of a newspaper editor.
Following a September hearing — one that Ferguson described as “the last real opportunity we have” — a panel of judges has ruled that he didn't get a fair trial. As a result, he must be released if prosecutors don’t file for a retrial within 15 days.
But Ferguson, 29, could be let out even sooner now that his lawyer says she plans to file for a bond motion.
“The ruling is great,” attorney Kathleen Zellner told the Daily News. “We’ve always had a lot of confidence in the court and that it would undo this travesty.”
The Missouri State Attorney General’s office said it will review the court’s decision and consult with Boone County prosecutors about what to do next.
Zellner said she doesn’t expect them to seek a retrial.
“I would find it amazing if they did,” she said. “They have two witnesses who said they lied under oath. After everything we know, it would be a first in American jurisprudence.”
Ferguson has maintained that he’s the victim of overzealous prosecutors, trumped-up charges and courtroom lies.
He was implicated in the crime when his friend, Chuck Erickson, confessed to killing Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt with Ferguson during a robbery attempt. Heitholt, 48, was found strangled and lying in a pool of blood beside his car in the newspaper office’s parking lot.
But Erickson, a teenage drug addict, gave conflicting testimony and said in a court deposition years later that he didn’t remember the incident and falsely named Ferguson.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District agreed that Ferguson, who was 19 at the time of the crime, didn't have a fighting chance on the stand.
“His verdict is not worthy of judicial or public confidence,” Judge Cynthia Martin wrote in a summary of the ruling, adding that there was “undisclosed evidence” not given to the defense.
According to the ruling, prosecutors withheld an interview with the wife of a witness, janitor Jerry Trump, who claimed he saw Ferguson at the scene. Trump later recanted and could now face perjury charges.
"It is so taxing and exhausting,” he said.
He added that he felt confident after the appeal hearing, and that it was “the first time the judges have acknowledged the facts. They wanted to do the right thing.”
He also said he holds no ill will toward Erickson, who Ferguson claimed was “just a victim.”
“They (prosecutors) got him to say what they wanted him to say,” Ferguson said.
He’s furious that investigators continued to believe Erickson — even though his story didn't seem to add up.
Ferguson’s story has received national attention as the subject of TV news programs. A Change.org petition has gotten more than 265,000 signatures, while a Facebook page was created demanding Ferguson's release.
Before his life changed, Ferguson had planned to pursue a job in real estate just like his father. But he remains locked up in a cell, reliving that night 12 years ago and everything that's happened since.
“We still can’t get the authorities to do the right thing,” Ferguson said. “The people who did this (investigators) ... none of them admitted to any wrongdoing.”
VJ Brendan: I have been following this case for years after seeing it profiled on 48 Hours, I have always believed Ryan was innocent.
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