ST. LOUIS — Before resigning from office, former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens used his authority to pardon five people and commute the prison sentences of four others. One of those people was 73-year-old Rodney Lincoln.
For 34 years, Lincoln sat in a Jefferson City prison for the brutal 1982 murder of JoAnne Tate and the assault of her 4- and 7-year-old daughters. It’s a crime he has always denied committing. Since his conviction, DNA testing showed hair used as evidence against Lincoln does not belong to him.
And now Tate’s only living daughter has come forward to say as a child she was afraid to question investigators and prosecutors when she agreed to identify Lincoln as her mother’s killer. This was testimony key to Lincoln’s conviction.
These new revelations combined with Lincoln’s family’s persistent lobbying of the Governor brings us to the moment of his release from prison. And it all started with a simple phone call.
"He says, ‘Rodney, this is Governor Greitens. I called to tell you that I am commuting your sentence to time served, you will be going home soon.’"
Lincoln’s daughter, Kay Lincoln described the moment she first saw her father emerge from the prison ward.
“You can't breathe. Does that mean he's coming today?’" she said.
Lincoln was reunited with a large extended family that includes four kids, 17 grandkids, and 23 great grandkids.
But he said there is still work to be done. Lincoln will be lobbying for a complete pardon. The difference now is he can be a part of the fight, instead of watching it from afar.
“This fight will end only when I got a piece of paper in my hand that says ‘You are not guilty,’" said Lincoln.
