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On Monday, Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Hedgecorth filed a motion to set aside the conviction of Michael Politte, who was arrested when he was 14 years old and charged with killing his mother in a fire at the family’s mobile home in Hopewell, Missouri.

Last month, Politte walked out of prison on parole. He’s now 37 years old, having spent most of his life in the Jefferson City Correctional Center. One of the people who encouraged the parole board to set Politte free was Hedgecorth, the prosecutor who now seeks to wipe away his conviction.

“In 2020, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) Crime Lab re-evaluated the chromatography analysis of Michael Politte’s shoes and concluded there were no ignitable liquids present. With that analysis, the singular physical evidence against Mr. Politte is now universally recognized as false,� Hedgecorth wrote in his motion to set aside Politte’s conviction. The motion will get its first hearing on Monday.

“Similarly, the trial expert testimony that this fire was started with an accelerant — which made the alleged gasoline on Michael’s shoes damning evidence of guilt — has been proven false as well,� the court motion continues. “Upon learning of the new chromatography analysis, this office undertook a review of the case against Mr. Politte and has determined that, in light of the scientific evidence, Mr. Politte’s conviction cannot be sustained.�

One of the greatest tragedies in the case, as Politte’s attorneys from the and Midwest Innocence Project have pointed out in multiple legal filings, is that the bad test on Politte’s shoes should have been known before trial, but that didn’t stop prosecutors at the time from robbing Politte of his youth.

“Given that the evidence underlying Mr. Politte’s conviction has been scientifically proven false, the Prosecuting Attorney is duty-bound to move to vacate his conviction,� Hedgecorth wrote in his motion.

It’s a similar argument to the one made by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner in 2019 when she sought to set aside the conviction of Lamar Johnson, who, Gardner said, was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1995. Prosecutors, Gardner and Hedgecorth both wrote, must be “ministers of justice,â€� and in some cases that means seeking to free innocent people from prison.

Gardner, though, filed her case before the Missouri Legislature passed a law in 2021 to specifically create a path for prosecutors to overturn convictions. That’s a point not lost on Politte. One of the last people he met with before he left prison was his friend Johnson. As Politte walked out on parole, he talked about the hope of welcoming Johnson home as a free man, too.

Now, the law that Johnson spurred from his prison cell is being used to potentially wipe away Politte’s conviction and make him a free and innocent man. That’s what happened to Kevin Strickland last November, when Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker became the first prosecutor to use the new law to set aside his wrongful conviction. Strickland spent 42 years in prison.

For Hedgecorth, the process of erasing Politte’s conviction has been a long time coming.

“I’ve known about it forever, since it happened,� he says of the case. “It’s a big thing in a small county.�

Indeed, several Washington County residents who were involved in the conviction, from jurors to law enforcement, have joined the effort to clear Politte’s name.

In his brief, Hedgecorth quotes five jurors from the case who believe Politte is “innocent� and “should be set free.�

On the day he walked out of prison, Politte spoke of getting “justice for Rita,â€� his mother. He lives with his sister now in south ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County. And while his attorneys continue to press a case to the Missouri Supreme Court to erase his conviction, this new path, opened by the Missouri Legislature and a prosecutor seeking justice, appears the most likely way to give Politte the fresh start he deserves.

“Justice is twenty-three years delayed for Rita Politte and her son Michael, but it is never too late,� Hedgecorth wrote in his motion. “Even though Mr. Politte is home with his family on parole supervision, he remains in the custody of the State and his felony conviction criminal record will immeasurably impede his ability to rebuild his life until this wrong can be righted.�