Scrutiny of the hiring practices of the Missouri Public Defender's Office prompted by the discovery that a suspect in the 2007 rape and murder of Rowan Ford has been working in the state public defender's West Plains office has led to the topic of hiring practices being placed on the agenda of a public meeting being held at 9 a.m. Wednesday via Zoom.
The public portion of the meeting may viewed by going online to publicdefender.mo.gov/public-information/open-meeting-notices and scrolling down to the meeting link. The meeting identification and passcode are listed directly below the link. The public portion of the meeting will not include discussion of "hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees," per state law.
David W. Spears, 42, Stella, pleaded guilty in 2012 to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and hindering the prosecution of a felony, both felonies. The case was heard in Pulaski County on a change of venue and he was sentenced to seven years on the endangerment conviction and four years on the latter conviction, served consecutively.
Court records related to the case also show a request was made for transcripts, complaints and other records on Jan. 3 by Clint Lorance, a law clerk with the Missouri State Public Defender's Office.
Spears was Ford's stepfather and a codefendant in the case, which led to the murder conviction of Spears' friend Christopher Collings, who was sentenced to death and executed last month.
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