Justice Department review of 1988 explosion is taking its time, and that’s raising questions

It took only moments for two massive explosions to claim the lives of six firefighters and gouge a giant crater into Kansas City’s earth and psyche in November 1988.

But it took nearly a decade to bring five defendants to trial. And it’s taking the U.S. Department of Justice much too long to review the controversial evidence that resulted in convictions and lifelong prison sentences for all five.

Former U.S. attorney John F. Wood asked for the review two years ago, after reports in The Kansas City Star raised disturbing questions about the integrity of the government’s witnesses. At least 15 witnesses told Star reporter Mike McGraw that a federal investigator pressured them to lie.

Washington-based investigators have interviewed some of the witnesses. But the scope of the review is unclear. The dearth of information and the length of time the review is taking are raising suspicions that getting to the truth may not be a high priority.

We hope that’s not the case. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who was a Kansas City councilman at the time of the blast, summed up the situation very well: “Justice delayed could be interpreted as justice denied.”