But suspicion lingers about Richardson, even after it was proven that the murder case against him was built on lies. Some still wonder whether it was Richardson who spiked the children’s lunch in October 1967 and finessed the legal system to avoid the punishment he deserved.
And now, the case that underscored the upheaval of the civil rights era in this small town is back in court.
Richardson is the first person to apply for a settlement under a new Florida law that awards the wrongly convicted.
Jailed for more than two decades, he stands to gain more than $1 million -- $50,000 for every year he spent in prison.
Opposing him, just as they did in 1967 and 1989, when he was set free, are prosecutors with the State Attorney’s Office. They are pointing to a provision in the new law that says the wrongly convicted must prove their own innocence to receive a payment.
It is nearly an impossible standard, especially in a case this old. Evidence was destroyed years ago and most of the witnesses are now dead.
Richardson’s attorney, Robert Barrar Jr., wonders: ‘How do you prove a negative? How do you prove that something didn’t happen?’
You can start with the baby sitter. Herald-Tribune article 8 March 2009, ‘Wrongly convicted man’s murder case raises questions’
This assigned state attorney has concluded that James Richardson did not receive a fair trial. That James Richardson did not receive justice at his trial. Janet Reno, state attorney at appeal hearing
RICHINS, KOURI: True Crime Recaps 2023 -
Kouri Richins: When a mom of three suddenly loses her husband she writes a children’s book about dealing with grief. Now she’s accused of poisoning him. True Crime Recaps: Grieving Wife or Cold-Blooded Killer? Kouri Richins, Youtube 9.26, 2023
We need to rewind a few years to the first time Kouri allegedly tried to do Eric in … Another brush with death on Valentine’s Day 2022: Corey allegedly attempted to dose her husband again. ibid.
Eric had a secret: he changed his will; instead of leaving everything to Kouri he put his sister in charge of his trust. ibid.
RICHTER, TRACEY: Diabolical Women TV -
A seemingly heroic mother actually takes the life of another woman’s son. Her motive: to target an ex-husband. Diabolical Women II: Tracey Richter, Channel 4 2023
December 13th 2001, Early, Iowa: She tells them [rozzer] she was home alone with her baby daughter and two sons when they became victims of a home invasion. Upstairs in the master bedroom investigators find the body of her alleged attacker on the floor.
She is taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. ibid.
RIDGWAY, GARY LEON: Crimes that Shook the World TV - Green River Killer: Born to Kill? TV - My Uncle is the Green River Killer TV - Deranged Killers TV - World’s Most Evil Killers TV - Catching Killers TV -
This is the story of America’s longest running and most prolific series of murders. For over two decades the citizens of Seattle quaked under the shadow of the Green River Killer. A murderer so prolific that by the time he was caught over forty-eight women had lost their lives and been dumped like garbage in the waste-grounds of Washington State. Crimes that Shook the World, Channel 5 2006
All the victims had been dumped in or around water, but in September ’82 the Green River Killer changed his pattern – he started dumping bodies in urban waste-ground instead. ibid.
He left a stone in the victim’s vagina. ibid.
The murderer drove a pick-up truck. ibid.
Old evidence could be tested for DNA. ibid.
On November 5th 2003 Ridgway was brought to the County Court House to plead guilty to the murder of forty-eight women. ibid.
The most prolific serial murderer America has ever known whose nineteen-year reign of terror left the area surrounding Seattle littered with corpses. Born to Kill? Green River Killer, CI 2013
The forty-eight charges of murder that investigators could conclusively tie him to. ibid.
So what made the monster? Was it his unusual upbringing, or was Gary Ridgway born to kill? ibid.
‘I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight.’ My Uncle is the Green River Killer, Ridgway, CI 2015
‘My uncle admitting to killing forty-eight women.’ ibid. niece
Garry passed the polygraph test. ibid.
The Green River Killer preyed on prostitutes and runaways around Seattle. The final tally of his murders will never be known. And the police couldn’t arrest him for twenty years. Eventually, a forensic lab was able to give the Green River Killer a name. The serial killer Gary Ridgway was certainly a deranged killer. Deranged Killers s1e3: Green River Killer, Discovery 2006
‘He was called in by the task force on several different occasions.’ ibid. Patricia Eakes, prosecutor
Ridgway even passed the polygraph test. ibid.
Seattle, Washington, November 5th 2003: In front of a packed room 54-killer Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder. When another body was found a few years later the terrible death toll hit 49. Among the many victims were young girls who had run away from home. Despite police suspicions, it took nearly 28 painstaking years to gather enough evidence to convict Ridgway of the murders. The man who became known as the Green River Killer murdered 49 young women and is suspected of killing many more. World’s Most Evil Killers s3e3: Gary Ridgway, Sky Crime 2021
As a teenager he was obsessed with sex. Ridgway struggled in school and was held back two grades. Aged 16 Ridgway viciously attacked a six-year-old boy. Ridgway was never identified so was not charged with the assault. ibid.
After his first murder, Ridgway went on a frenzied killing spree. ibid.
By dumping the bodies in the river and in the woods hard evidence is hard to come by. ibid.
Seattle, Washington, 1988: An international manhunt for the so-called Green River Killer. Not just America’s most wanted but perhaps the most dangerous single killer in the entire world. Catching Killers s1e1: Body Count: The Green River Killer, television clip, Netflix 2021
The detectives show Rebecca a photo lineup including his mug shot. She looks the six photos over. She picks one photo out of the six. Says, That’s the guy who tried to kill me. She identifies the person from Kenworth Trucking. A man by the name of Gary Ridgway. ibid. rozzer
Gary Ridgway was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 49 women. ibid.
RIEBE, MARK: Serial Killer with Piers Morgan TV -
I’ve been granted a rare interview with a serial killer: Mark Riebe confessed to murdering thirteen women; he later retracted those confessions. Detectives believe he is a serial killer even though he’s only been convicted of a single murder. Serial Killers with Piers Morgan s1e1: Mark Riebe, ITV 2017
Mark Riebe is serving life here in Florida Blackwater River correctional facility. ibid.
RIESS, LOIS: A Killer’s Mistake TV - Meet, Marry, Murder TV -
Pam Hutchinson found dead in her hotel murdered. Fifteen hundred miles north another homicide scene with distinct similarities. Her grandfather David Riess discovered in his bathroom. Chief suspect – his wife Lois. She is nowhere to be seen. A Killer’s Mistake s3e7: Louis Riess, DiscoveryPlus 2023
Suspected of two murdered. Hunted across ten states. ibid.
‘The cause of death – multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.’ ibid. rozzer
59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson lies dead in a hotel room. Detectives baffled about the motive for homicide. On the run 56-year-old Lois Riess, wife, mother, grandmother. With a 2,000-mile hunt underway, what did Riess know about another killing just days earlier, that of her husband David? Meet, Marry, Murder s1e19, Netflix 2022
Lois Riess was a gambling addiction, a liar, and a thief. ibid.
RIFKIN, JOEL: Killers: Behind the Myth TV - Chicago Tribune - Inside Evil: Mind of a Killer TV - Rifkin on Rifkin TV -
New Jersey, March 5th 1989: in the quiet rural town of Hopewell a golfer tees off for an early Sunday-morning round. Whilst looking for his ball in the undergrowth the golfer makes an horrific discovery. The mangled decapitated head of a young woman. Killers: Behind the Myth: Long Island Killer/Joel the Ripper s2e3, CI 2014
All the teeth had been removed. ibid.
He confesses to a total of seventeen murders over a four-year killing spree. ibid.
Susie’s was just the first of many body disposals. ibid.
Rifkin resorts to trawling the streets of New York for prostitutes. ibid.
He dumps her body whole into the Hudson River. ibid.