Wrongly branded as a felon for decades, Kansas City great-grandmother secures court victory

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Mistakes happen, but Phyllis Henderson says she’s paying a big price for an error made decades ago. She was labeled a felon. It ruined her life — and it’s not true.

“I call it a judicial disability that they have given me,” said Henderson. “They have disabled me from renting in a decent neighborhood and gainful employment.”

In 1988, Henderson said she had a wild side and got into some trouble.

“We’re young and riding around — drinking, partying,” said Henderson.

She spent the night at a stranger’s house and woke up to an acquaintance stealing items, including a VCR—a video cassette recorder. It’s how people could watch movies before streaming.

Grandview Police questioned Henderson about the VCR, but she wouldn’t snitch. Initially, Henderson was charged with a felony, but it was amended to a misdemeanor because the value of the VCR was less than $150. She pled guilty.

That should have been the end of it.

Living life as a felon

Phyllis Henderson is now in her 60s. She’s a great-grandmother. Her “wild side” has been tamed, and she’s had no run-ins with police since that incident in 1988.

But all her life, Henderson worked temp jobs and rented less-than-desirable housing because applications for better jobs and housing came back that was a felon. It showed that in her record.

Henderson pushed back.

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She went to the police. They ran her name and it came back that she was a felon. She even asked for a pardon from then-Governor Jay Nixon. He rejected her request.

Eventually, Henderson conceded. “It’s just in there. I just accepted it. It’s been slapping me in the face for 37 years.”

Finally finding redemption

Henderson recently turned to UMKC’s Expungement Clinic for help.

And they got answers pretty quickly.

“We asked for certain documents and the court sent us what documents they had,” explained Ellen Suni, a UMKC law professor and co-director of the clinic. “When we looked at those documents, it wasn’t a felony. It was a misdemeanor.”

The court documents specifically show “felony reduced to misdemeanor”— it’s signed by the judge.

When Suni told Henderson the news, “She was floored,” said Suni. “She had no idea.”

So, where’s the mix-up?

At the time, information from the courts was transmitted to the Missouri State Highway Patrol criminal records repository. Somehow, the misdemeanor conviction was entered incorrectly.

“This was the first case where I actually saw that big of a mistake,” said Suni. “I mean, there are lots of consequences that come automatically from a felony.”

Henderson recently went to court where a judge granted her expungement. Meaning the felony conviction that never really was a felony is now gone.

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