Bio

Kenneth Kenley was born on September 17, 1960. Before the murder of Ronald Felts, Kenley already had a criminal record. He had finished a four-year prison sentence for stealing about two months before the January 1984 crime spree. Court records also said Kenley and his cousin planned the robberies to get money for drugs and to help Kenley’s grandmother.

Before the robbery spree, Kenley broke into a sporting-goods store and stole guns. On January 2, 1984, he bought .38-caliber hollow-point bullets and practiced shooting at cans and trees.

Kenley was 23 years old when the crimes happened. During later appeals, his lawyers argued that the jury had not heard enough evidence about his mental-health and personal history. In 1991, the Eighth Circuit vacated his death sentence because of that issue, but his murder conviction remained. He was later resentenced to death.

Postconviction records also showed that Kenley had serious behavior problems as a child. A school social worker described him as aggressive, hostile, and unable to function well in class. He was later referred for evaluation and treated at Farmington State Hospital and Lutheran Hospital. This evidence was presented as mitigation, but it did not stop the renewed death sentence.

Murder Story

Kenneth Kenley’s crime spree began late on January 3, 1984, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. At about 11:15 p.m., he entered the Kater Inn package store wearing a ski mask and carrying a .38-caliber pistol. He forced the clerk to hand over money from the cash register. When customer Sandra Buttry entered the store, Kenley ordered her to the floor, then abducted her and forced her into a borrowed station wagon. He attempted to sexually assault her, but she escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle. Kenley shot her in the back as she fled, but she survived.

Shortly after midnight on January 4, 1984, Kenley entered the Blue Moon Tavern near Poplar Bluff. Several people were inside, including 27-year-old Ronald “Ronnie” Felts, who was playing pool. Kenley announced a holdup and ordered everyone to the floor. When the patrons did not immediately comply, he pointed his gun at Felts and shouted that he would make an example of him. He fired one shot, striking Felts in the head and killing him almost instantly.

Kenley then forced the tavern owner, Ellen White, to open the cash register. He took the money and ordered White and bartender Randy Jenkins to leave with him. When Jenkins moved too slowly or was no longer useful to him, Kenley shot him in the face. Jenkins survived. Kenley then tried to take White with him, but she later escaped.

After leaving the Blue Moon Tavern, Kenley continued the robbery spree. He tried to rob a motel in Poplar Bluff and threatened the proprietor’s husband, saying he had already killed and would kill again. During the confrontation, his pistol clicked but did not fire. Later that morning, Kenley entered a grocery store in Corning, Arkansas, fired a shot into the ceiling, and demanded a car and driver. He drove away in a vehicle provided at the scene but was arrested as he left the parking lot.

Kenley was tried for capital murder in Butler County, Missouri. He was convicted and sentenced to death. In a separate case, he was also convicted of three counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of stealing. Those convictions were also affirmed on appeal.

In 1991, the Eighth Circuit vacated Kenley’s death sentence because of ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase, finding that available mitigating evidence had not been properly presented. The court left the conviction intact and ordered either a life sentence without parole or a new sentencing procedure. Missouri chose a new sentencing trial, and Kenley was again sentenced to death in 1994.

Kenley continued to pursue appeals after resentencing. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the renewed death sentence in 1997, and federal courts later denied further relief.

Kenneth Kenley was executed by lethal injection at Potosi Correctional Center on February 5, 2003. He was pronounced dead at 12:03 a.m. News reports from the execution stated that last-minute appeals and a clemency request were denied before the sentence was carried out.