On June 24th, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the execution of Lance Shockley to occur at 6 pm on October 14th, 2025. Shockley was convicted for the March 20th, 2005, murder of a Missouri State Trooper, Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham, in Van Buren, MO.
Shockley filed appeals of his conviction but was denied. The Missouri Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court reviewed Shockley’s case but found no legal errors. Shockley’s execution is the first to be scheduled in Missouri for 2025, which marks a slowing of the state’s four-executions-per-year pace set in 2023 and 2024.
The Catholic Church is strongly opposed to the death penalty because it disregards the sanctity and dignity of human life. If you would like to contact Governor Kehoe regarding Mr. Shockley’s execution, you can reach his office via phone at (573)751-3222 or email him here.