Michael Politte was fourteen years old when this alleged teen killer was arrested for the murder of his mother. According to court documents Michael Politte was inside of the family home when a fire broke out, unfortunately his mother Rita Politte was unable to escape the fire, Michael and a friend made it out safely. After an investigation that experts now believe was full of errors Michael Politte would be arrested for starting the fatal fire and for killing his mother. Michael Politte would go to trial and would be convicted of the murder charge and sentenced to life in prison. Now 23 years later Michael Politte has been granted parole and is scheduled to be released on April 23, 2022. Michael Politte has maintained his innocence since his arrest
Michael Politte 2022 Information
| DOC ID | 1073549 |
| Offender Name | Michael B Politte |
| Race | White |
| Sex | Male |
| Date of Birth | 03/11/1984 |
| Height/Weight | 5’11” / 160 |
| Hair/Eyes | Brown / Blue |
| Assigned Location | Jefferson City Correctional Center |
Michael Politte More News
A Missouri man who maintains he was wrongly convicted of murdering his mother more than 20 years ago has been granted parole, his attorneys said Tuesday evening. Michael Politte, now 37, was convicted of second-degree murder in 2002, four years after he found Rita Politte’s body burning on the floor of their Hopewell home in eastern Missouri, his lawyers have said. He was 14 when she died. Politte and his sisters maintained he is innocent. Now that he has been granted parole, he will be released April 23 from the Jefferson City Correctional Center. “But this is not the end. Justice for the Politte family demands Mike’s exoneration and we will continue to litigate in court to overturn his conviction,” his lawyers with the MacArthur Justice Center, the Midwest Innocence Project and Langdon & Emison said in a statement. “His release on parole means he can now continue this fight from home with his sisters.”
In court filings, Politte’s attorneys argued he was convicted based in part on discredited fire investigation techniques and an incompetent new public defender at trial. The jurors who convicted Politte have raised concerns about their decision in recent years. Two believe he is innocent and should be freed to correct “this wrong,” while others have said he deserves a new trial based on evidence they never heard. One of the jurors, Linda Dickerson-Bell, of Bonne Terre, in an affidavit said she learned through an MTV documentary series, which featured Politte’s case, that there was not gasoline on his shoes. She called that evidence the “nail in the coffin” for her at trial. “After learning about the new evidence, my guilt has only grown,” she wrote. “I now firmly believe … that we made a terrible mistake.
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article258190203.html#storylink=cpy
Michel Politte Videos
Michael Politte Other News
Attorneys for Michael Politte, who was convicted at the age of 14 for killing his mother, say their efforts to clear his name will continue after his release on parole in April after serving more than 23 years in prison.
Politte’s mother Rita was burned to death inside their mobile home in Hopewell, Missouri on December 5, 1998. After spending roughly four years in juvenile detention, he was tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder in 2002, and sentenced to life in prison.
His attorneys announced Wednesday that Politte was granted parole, effective April 23. The Missouri Department of Corrections has not yet confirmed that decision.
“This is not the end. Justice for the Politte family demands Mike’s exoneration and we will continue to litigate in court to overturn his conviction. His release on parole means he can now continue this fight at home with his sisters. We look forward to the Court hearing his case and finally giving him his day in court,” a joint statement from his lawyers from the MacArthur Justice Center, The Midwest Innocence Project and Langdon & Emison said.
Last August, his attorneys filed a petition with the Missouri Court of Appeals to reconsider the case, and in October, asked the Missouri Supreme Court to free him, citing what it says was a conviction based on debunked science and a biased investigation.
Michael Politte Now
Michael Politte is currently incarcerated at the Jefferson City Correctional Center
Michael Politte Release Date
Michael Politte is scheduled to be released on April 23, 2022 on parole