Former Missouri prosecutor Kevin Crane, now a judge, still won't admit to railroading — with no physical evidence — college student Ryan Ferguson in murder conviction

UPDATE: Ferguson was released from prison November 13th, 2013. Watch his interview with CBS, whose reporter, Erin Moriarity, gave his predicament national attention and resulted in Kathleen Zellner, who Ferguson's father compared to the Marines, taking on the case — and Missouri's justice system — and winning.

Current circuit judge and former
Boone County MO Prosecuting
Attorney Kevin Crane

Despite the fact that both witnesses in the conviction of Ryan Ferguson for the murder of sportswriter Kent Heitholt have now recanted their accusation and despite the fact that there was never any physical evidence in the case implicating anyone accused by Missouri authorities, Judge Daniel Greene has denied the latest of 13 appeals in the case.
     From the website started by Ryan's father:

Since his original conviction, Ryan Ferguson has been back in court on several occasions including a 2008 evidentiary hearing and a 2012 habeas corpus. On all these occasions the local Missouri judges ruled against him, unwilling to challenge the authority and judgments of their colleagues. Even though the only two witness against him committed perjury and the ‘sole witness’ says Ryan was not the individual she saw in the parking lot.

     Ferguson is being represented, pro bono, by attorney Kathleen Zellner.
     A summary of facts from the website seeking Ferguson's release from prison:

• A single strand of bloody hair was found in the hand of the victim Kent Heitholt. It did not match Ryan Ferguson, Chuck Erickson or Heitholt.
• None of the fingerprints or blood found at the scene matched Ryan or Chuck.
• Ryan’s car and Chuck’s home were thoroughly tested for any blood or physical evidence linking them to the crime. None was found.
• There were two sets of bloody shoeprints leading away from Kent Heitholt’s car – neither of the shoe sizes matched Ryan or Chuck. For this reason these shoeprints were not introduced as evidence at Ryan’s trial.
• After police coercion, Chuck Erickson claimed he struck Kent Heitholt with a tire iron taken from Ryan’s car trunk and Ryan strangled him.
• Heitholt was hit 11 times but none of these blows resulted in a skull fracture. Medical experts state this would be physically impossible with a sturdy tire iron.
• The tire tool found in Ryan’s car was cleared by the FBI and found to have no connection to the crime.
• At his first police interrogation Chuck Erickson had no idea how Heitholt was murdered – until fed information that had not been made public by the investigating officers.
• A Missouri appeals court stated quite simply that 'there is no physical evidence that ties Ferguson to this murder. Prosecutor Kevin Crane also stated this to the jury at the beginning of the trial.