Attorney General's News Release

January 26, 2010

Attorney General Koster seeks execution dates for neo-Nazi mass-murderer, Good Samaritan-killer

Jefferson City, Mo. -- Attorney General Chris Koster today asked the Missouri Supreme Court to set execution dates for Allen Nicklasson and Joseph Franklin.

Nicklasson was found guilty in 1996 of first degree murder for the death of "Good Samaritan" Richard Drummond. Nicklasson was the trigger-man in the 1994 killing of Mr. Drummond, who had offered a ride to Nicklasson, Dennis Skillicorn and Tim DeGraffenreid after their car broke down on Interstate 70. The state executed Dennis Skillicorn last May for his role in the crime.

In a renewed motion, the Attorney General asked for an execution date for Franklin, who was convicted in 1997 for shooting and killing Gerald Gordon, who was standing in the parking lot of a St. Louis area synagogue after a bar mitzvah. Franklin also was convicted of shooting two other men who were in the synagogue parking lot. While Franklin will be executed for his crimes in Missouri, he also was convicted for the murder of two African-Americans in Utah, the murder of an interracial couple in Wisconsin, and the bombing of a synagogue in Tennessee. Franklin also has claimed responsibility for the shooting of Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit had put Missouri's death-penalty protocol on hold while it reviewed certain facts in Clemons v. Crawford. Their ruling denying rehearing December 22, 2009, cleared the way for several Missouri cases to move forward, including these two.

"The Eighth Circuit has confirmed the constitutionality of Missouri's law in this area, and our request reflects that fact," Koster said. "Allen Nicklasson and Joseph Franklin both showed total disregard for the innocent people whose lives they took."