The Director of the Missouri State Public Defender’s office tells the state House Budget Committee that David Spears, who was charged in the 2007 murder of his stepdaughter, Rowan Ford, is no longer employed by the Public Defender’s West Plains office. The budget committee refused to hear the budget proposal of Director Mary Fox, as long as Spears was still employed by the office.
The author of a letter to the Missouri Public Defender’s Office, which was signed by sixteen Missouri legislators, spoke with Ozark Radio News. A public outcry arose when it was revealed that Spears was hired by the office after his release. A plea deal reduced Spears’ sentence to child endangerment and hindering prosecution.
Missouri State Representative Lane Roberts of Joplin told Ozark Radio News, “I think like most people I was unaware that David Spears had been employed by the Public Defender’s office. When I heard it like the people that brought it to my attention, my first reaction was simply shock. The idea that somebody who was complicit in the murder of their stepdaughter could be rewarded with a job at public expense, regardless of legality, just offends the conscience. We paid out public dollars for his defense. We paid out public dollars for his upkeep in prison. We’re now paying his salary, and if I suppose he stays employed long enough, we would be expected to pay for his retirement.”
Roberts told Ozark Radio News that the news evoked an emotional response from many. Roberts was especially familiar with the case, as he was serving as Chief of Police in Joplin, Missouri when Rowan Ford was first reported missing, and when her body was later located. “It just outrages me on a visceral level how a person could have engaged in the despicable conduct that he did and then be rewarded with a job, and a future, and maybe even retirement at public expense. I’m not suggesting that he shouldn’t be employed somewhere, but the idea that the public would employ him, particularly in light of his conduct, is just offensive on its face. It’s just atrocious.”
David Spears’ friend, Chris Collings, was executed by the state in December for his role in the rape and murder of Rowan Ford.
