CREW requests DOJ records on former prosecutor Terra Morehead who allegedly helped frame an innocent man for murder

Former Assistant United States Attorney Terra Morehead, who allegedly helped frame an innocent man for murder, was disbarred recently after her retirement—but the details of any investigations that DOJ conducted or any disciplinary decisions contemplated have yet to be made public. In both her roles as a former federal and Kansas state prosecutor, she was repeatedly criticized by courts and the public for serious misconduct and manifest injustice involving numerous defendants, particularly Black defendants.

Morehead’s laundry list of misconduct includes undue influence over witnesses, failure to disclose material information, and unauthorized access to attorney-client communications. Perhaps most notorious was her prosecution of then-17 year old Lamonte McIntyre, who was exonerated in 2017 of the 1994 double homicide conviction, having served 23 years in prison. The case allegedly included no physical evidence identifying McIntyre, was built by a disgraced former Kansas Police Officer and relied on a witness who later alleged that Morehead pressured her into giving false testimony by threats such as “this is how it’s going to be done, or I’ll send someone to get your kids and you’ll be put in jail for perjury,” and “[i]f you don’t do what we discussed, I’ll throw your Black ass in jail. I’ll send them to get your kids, and you’ll never see them again.”

CREW requests records from the Department of Justice about investigations into former Assistant United States Attorney Terra Morehead while at the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, about her misconduct as a prosecutor under the State of Kansas, and about any DOJ actions or decisions not to take actions. 

If the allegations are true, investigation and disciplinary measures for Morehead were long overdue. The public has an interest in knowing whether seemingly unethical conduct by a prosecutor, which could have real lasting and irreversible consequences on both innocent people’s lives and the integrity of our judicial system, would be investigated and held accountable. In another case where a federal judge criticized Morehead for violating attorney-client privileges, then-Acting United States Attorney Slinkard testified that Morehead’s reputation for veracity is poor. Given the frequent, norm-breaking and severe allegations against Morehead, ​the record regarding her misconduct should be made public. A full and transparent record of the steps the DOJ has taken to hold her accountable, as well as any failures to do so along the way, is of significant public interest.