Dickerson Bell on Politte Trial

(St. Francois County, MO) Michael Politte is in prison for the murder of his mother, Rita Politte, in 1998. Politte has been in prison for 23 years and now some jurors are coming forth saying they believe Politte is innocent of setting his mother on fire killing her. One of the jurors, Linda Dickerson Bell, says she has filed an affidavit with the Missouri Supreme Court as have two other jurors who were a part of the trial. Dickerson Bell says the only reason Politte was convicted was because the forensics tests in use during the trial showed there was gasoline, the accelerant used to start the fire that burned Rita Politte to death, on Politte's tennis shoes.

The latest forensics tests show no gasoline on Politte's tennis shoes and other jurors came forward in 2017 with claims of innocence for Politte. The affidavit from Dickerson Bell was filed last Wednesday with the Missouri Supreme Court. You can hear the interview with Dickerson Bell at kfmo.com