#ClemencyForMichaelTisius

On March 2nd, the Missouri Supreme Court set an execution date of June 6th, 2023, for Michael Tisius. Micheal was 19 years old when he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in Randolph County. 

Executing Juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment.  

With your help, we can move Governor Parson to commute Michael’s sentence to Life Without Parole. 

Emerging scientific evidence supports the conclusion that the brain does not fully mature before a person reaches the age of 21 or higher. Michael’s brain had not fully matured at the time of the crime, which affected brain functioning in areas of decision-making and impulse control. In 26 states and the District of Columbia, a defendant who was 19 would not be executed. 

Missouri laws regarding juveniles and the death penalty should reflect evolving standards of decency. 

In addition to the lack of maturity, Michael’s brain has been negatively affected by a life of abuse, neglect, and trauma. 

Years before he was even born, the stage was set for the trauma that characterized Michael’s life. His family had a long history of generations of abuse and neglect.

Throughout his childhood, Michael was abandoned by his father and severely neglected by his mother. His older brother tormented him with physical and emotional abuse.

Michael believed as a child that he was useless, that he did not possess worthy or admirable attributes, and that he deserved to be victimized and to suffer — he continues to harbor these beliefs to this day.

Michael also fell prey to Missouri’s systemic failures. Systems designed to protect Michael from his disturbing home life and to support his development repeatedly failed to do so, leaving him vulnerable and traumatized.

Background. The effects of Michael’s lifelong trauma were apparent when he became homeless as a teenager and had to live on the streets. By the time Michael was in ninth grade, he was homeless. As a teenager on his own and without a stable home, Michael had begun getting in trouble for stealing.

In 2000, Michael rented a stereo system, and instead of returning it, he pawned it. He was arrested in Randolph County for failure to return property, a misdemeanor charge.  He was incarcerated at Randolph County Jail for that charge when he met Roy Vance. He was 19; Vance was 27. 

Roy Vance was there because he had escaped from another small Missouri jail and was expected to spend 50 years in prison. Vance gave Michael attention and positive reinforcement that he never had growing up. Other people housed in the same pod described Michael as idolizing Vance and noted that Vance was clearly grooming Michael to do his bidding. 

Who is Roy Vance? Dr. Stephen M. Peterson is one of many psychiatrists who has evaluated Michael throughout his 20-plus years of incarceration. The first time was in 2003, and he noted that Michael’s history of severe physical abuse by his older brother rendered him “very vulnerable to manipulation by an idealized figure such as Roy Vance.” 

When Michael was released, Vance gave him instructions to help him escape. He returned to the jail later that evening with Vance’s girlfriend to attempt the escape.  In these intense emotional circumstances, Mr. Tisius panicked and shot two jailers, Jason Acton and Leon Egley. Despite there being no evidence that any of the co-conspirators deliberated or intended to commit murder, Michael was sentenced to death in 2010. Vance and his girlfriend both received life sentences for the attempted escape.  

 Sign and share the petition to Governor Parson, asking him to show mercy and commute Michael Tisius’s sentence to Life Without Parole.