MAN FREED ON $5,000 BAIL WAS CONVICTED OF KILLING HIS WIFE

Samuel Lee Scott, 54, walked out of a St. Louis jail on $5,000 bail posted by a nonprofit on April 9, 2019, and went to the home of his wife, Marcia Johnson, that same night, according to a probable-cause statement. Johnson, also 54, died five days later, and a jury later convicted Scott of first-degree murder in her death.

Scott had been charged days earlier with misdemeanor domestic assault for allegedly hitting Johnson in the face, and the court was told he had threatened her for planning to call the police, the Associated Press reported.

The assault charge, filed April 5, 2019, stemmed from an attack in January. The Missouri Court of Appeals later put the date at January 6 and said Scott had abused Johnson verbally and physically on multiple occasions. Prosecutors said the blow injured her ear and cheekbone.

A probable-cause statement said Scott told her he “might as well finish what (he) started since (she) was going to contact the police.”

The St. Louis Bail Project, a nonprofit that posts bail for people awaiting trial who cannot afford it, paid the $5,000 on April 9, FOX 26 Houston reported. The group is part of a national organization and had operated in St. Louis since January 2018.

The probable-cause statement said Scott showed up at Johnson’s home at 7:45 p.m. At about 11 p.m., a friend found her bloodied and took her to a hospital.

The statement described Johnson as unconscious, with a broken eye socket, several broken ribs and bruises “from head to toe.” Police said Scott admitted striking her. He also had earlier convictions for assault and drug offenses dating to the 1990s.

Johnson died on April 14, 2019. KMOV reported that preliminary findings attributed her death to blunt-force trauma. Scott was charged with first-degree murder on April 16 and held on $1 million bond.

The fight over who should have known

Bail Project Executive Director Robin Steinberg said the group was “deeply saddened” and said, “No one could have predicted this tragedy.” She argued that bail itself was not the problem.

“It’s important to remember that had he been wealthy enough to afford his bail, or bonded out by a commercial bail bond agency, he would have been free pretrial as well,” Steinberg said.

On April 24, 2019, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner urged the Bail Project to review court records and contact her office before posting bail in cases involving victims, so victims and witnesses could be told when someone was released.

“If all of the charging documents were reviewed by the Bail Project, they would have seen the safety concerns of the victim, prosecutors and courts,” Gardner said.

Gardner said she supported criminal-justice reform and reducing unnecessary pretrial detention, but that she had an obligation “to put victims’ safety first.”

Steinberg answered that it was “inexcusable to use Ms. Johnson’s memory to stoke fear.” She called for preventing gender-based violence without relying on jails.

A grand jury indicted Scott on May 9, 2019, according to the appeals court opinion. On April 20, 2022, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, fourth-degree domestic assault and violating an order of protection.

The trial court sentenced him that day to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, plus concurrent one-year sentences on the other two counts. On September 19, 2023, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions and sentence.