KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Washington County, Missouri, Prosecutor’s office Tuesday announced plans to file a motion to set-aside/vacate the judgment of second degree murder in the case of Michael Politte.
Politte served more than 23 years in prison in connection to the 1998 death of his mother, Rita Politte.
Last month, Politte was granted parole on the murder charges and released from prison.
Despite his release, a group of attorneys from the Midwest Innocence Project and the MacArthur Justice Center have claimed Politte is innocent of the charges.
Last year, the groups helped Politte file a writ of habeas corpus with first the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District and later the Missouri Supreme Court. While the appeals court denied the writ, the Missouri Supreme Court is still deliberating.
If successful, the motion to vacate the judgment would be the second time the newly-created power was used.
The first case involved the freeing of Kevin Strickland last November.
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