Missouri man arrested on drug charges waits in prison two years without a trail, forgotten by prosecutors, judges, even his own defense lawyer.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports
Joseph A. Shepard Sr. sat in local jails for almost two years, assuming that his lawyer was making progress on his case and that drug-related charges against him would soon be resolved in federal court.
His family says lawyer Michael P. Kelly told them Shepard had pleaded guilty and would return home soon with credit for time already served behind bars.
Shepard never came home.
Shepard, 53, is a man the system forgot, apparently ignored by his own attorney -- and the prosecutor and judge -- as days ticked by in a municipal lockup where he was confined to a cell 23 hours a day.
Shepard was surprised when a reporter broke the news at the Jennings jail Wednesday night that his case had been forgotten. It was more than a month after prosecutors took steps to move the case forward, though he still had not been told about it by his lawyer.
"Good. That's what I've been hoping for -- something like that," he said. "I kind of figured that, after two years of nothing happening."
Shepard, in a short-sleeve orange jail top, blue shorts, flip-flops and a Rip Van Winkle-esque seven-month growth of beard, almost missed the news. He balked when guards said he had an unexpected visitor. "I argued with them and told them no, you got the wrong person," he said.
Long ago, he told his family not to drive four hours round trip from home in Potosi to Jennings for just a 20-minute visit.
Shepard has been locked up in Jennings for 20 months while other federal detainees came and went. "Everybody but me," he said. Jennings holds federal prisoners under contract. He was in a different jail for six months before that.
He is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Shepard said he persevered "day by day" thanks to reading, praying and the patience he developed fishing and working on cars and motorcycles. He figured, "If I just sit here long enough, something's going to happen."
Shepard has mainly communicated with Kelly, his lawyer, through family. He said Kelly visited him July 17 to tell of a potential plea deal for a four-year sentence. Shepard said he wanted to take the deal.
But prosecutors said Kelly turned it down the next day.
All the while, it appears Kelly did nothing to try to secure his client's release on bond.
Kelly, who has a private practice and also is a municipal court judge in Potosi, has not responded to repeated phone calls and e-mails from a Post-Dispatch reporter over more than two weeks. While at the U.S. attorney's office Friday, he told a prosecutor that he would not speak with a reporter who was on the way to talk to him.
Shepard's family members say Kelly has been very difficult to reach and has given them information directly contradicted by court files.
Shepard's daughter-in-law, Amy Shepard, complained that Kelly didn't help when she asked him to get Shepard medicine for diabetes and hypertension. She also said Kelly told family members that Shepard had pleaded guilty and was about to get out.
They said the lawyer also told family members not to bother attending the plea hearing because such proceedings are held privately in the judge's chambers.
Kelly has not filed a single document on behalf of Shepard in all of 2007 and 2008, court records show. The last was Sept. 29, 2006. And he failed to file documents that could have allowed Shepard to be released on bond more than two years ago, according to court documents and prosecutors.
Thanks to Cato @Liberty
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports
Joseph A. Shepard Sr. sat in local jails for almost two years, assuming that his lawyer was making progress on his case and that drug-related charges against him would soon be resolved in federal court.
His family says lawyer Michael P. Kelly told them Shepard had pleaded guilty and would return home soon with credit for time already served behind bars.
Shepard never came home.
Shepard, 53, is a man the system forgot, apparently ignored by his own attorney -- and the prosecutor and judge -- as days ticked by in a municipal lockup where he was confined to a cell 23 hours a day.
Shepard was surprised when a reporter broke the news at the Jennings jail Wednesday night that his case had been forgotten. It was more than a month after prosecutors took steps to move the case forward, though he still had not been told about it by his lawyer.
"Good. That's what I've been hoping for -- something like that," he said. "I kind of figured that, after two years of nothing happening."
Shepard, in a short-sleeve orange jail top, blue shorts, flip-flops and a Rip Van Winkle-esque seven-month growth of beard, almost missed the news. He balked when guards said he had an unexpected visitor. "I argued with them and told them no, you got the wrong person," he said.
Long ago, he told his family not to drive four hours round trip from home in Potosi to Jennings for just a 20-minute visit.
Shepard has been locked up in Jennings for 20 months while other federal detainees came and went. "Everybody but me," he said. Jennings holds federal prisoners under contract. He was in a different jail for six months before that.
He is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Shepard said he persevered "day by day" thanks to reading, praying and the patience he developed fishing and working on cars and motorcycles. He figured, "If I just sit here long enough, something's going to happen."
Shepard has mainly communicated with Kelly, his lawyer, through family. He said Kelly visited him July 17 to tell of a potential plea deal for a four-year sentence. Shepard said he wanted to take the deal.
But prosecutors said Kelly turned it down the next day.
All the while, it appears Kelly did nothing to try to secure his client's release on bond.
Kelly, who has a private practice and also is a municipal court judge in Potosi, has not responded to repeated phone calls and e-mails from a Post-Dispatch reporter over more than two weeks. While at the U.S. attorney's office Friday, he told a prosecutor that he would not speak with a reporter who was on the way to talk to him.
Shepard's family members say Kelly has been very difficult to reach and has given them information directly contradicted by court files.
Shepard's daughter-in-law, Amy Shepard, complained that Kelly didn't help when she asked him to get Shepard medicine for diabetes and hypertension. She also said Kelly told family members that Shepard had pleaded guilty and was about to get out.
They said the lawyer also told family members not to bother attending the plea hearing because such proceedings are held privately in the judge's chambers.
Kelly has not filed a single document on behalf of Shepard in all of 2007 and 2008, court records show. The last was Sept. 29, 2006. And he failed to file documents that could have allowed Shepard to be released on bond more than two years ago, according to court documents and prosecutors.
Thanks to Cato @Liberty
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