KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Lamonte McIntyre, the Kansas City, Kansas, man who spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he did not commit, cancelled his RSVP to light the mayor's Christmas tree.
Lamonte McIntyre was freed from prison earlier this year. He was scheduled to flip the switch for the lights Friday during the Mayor’s Holiday Lighting festival in front of city hall.
A couple of hours before the event started, McIntyre's attorney, Lindsay Runnels, released a statement which said McIntyre would not be attending the lighting ceremony.
The statement read:
"Lamonte McIntyre will not be attending the Mayor’s Tree Lighting Ceremony this evening. Lamonte’s sister is performing at an event at her high school and Lamonte would like to be able to support her by attending.
Furthermore, Lamonte is disappointed that the planned event to 'welcome Lamonte home' has not included any dialogue about criminal justice reform so that what happened to Lamonte does not happen again. Lamonte and his counsel remain ready to be a part of meaningful discussions about critical reforms that are needed in Wyandotte County.
Lamonte appreciates Mayor Holland’s invitation and looks forward to real discussions in the future."
After McIntyre's release six weeks ago, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree committed to establishing conviction integrity unit. Dupree said the unit should be ready by the second quarter of 2018.
