Columnist Jamala Rogers
In the last week, there’s been a flurry of activity around the death penalty. The death penalty is on its death bed, flailing and gasping for life. There are some who still want to give CPR to the increasing unpopular method. The most obvious are politicians who think support of capital punishment translates into votes.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky’s lethal injection method although leaving the door open for states who have documented problems with the procedure. (Missouri has problems aplenty.) The High Court also turned down Missouri Michael Taylor’s lethal injection appeal along with those of 10 other death row inmates across the country.
There were also some press releases and press conferences checkmating one another. Before the Supreme Court’s decision could settle, Attorney General-gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon called for execution dates for four more Missouri inmates, adding to the list of 10 he put on notice last June.
Reggie Clemons, Michael Taylor, Mark Christeson, Martin Link, Earl Ringo Jr., Dennis Skillicorn, Roderick Nunley, Richard Clay, Jeffrey Ferguson, Andrew Lyons, William Rousan, Russell Bucklew, John Winfield and John Middleton represent about one-fifth of death row. It looks like Nixon may be trying to clean out death row before he leaves office.
Not to be outdone, Governor Blunt reiterated the call for child rapists to get the death penalty. HB1194 handily passed out of committee angering many child advocates who believe the emotional issue is being used for political gain. Some have spoken out that since most child sexual abuse is perpetrated by a family member, it will make it even more difficult for a child to come forward if they know they will be responsible for Daddy or Uncle Jim getting executed.
The use of children to advance political campaigns is reprehensible.
Meanwhile, HB1870 that would establish a moratorium committee is struggling to get out of the Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee. This would be a good time for Committee Chair Rep. Mark Bruns to hear from you urging passage of the bill. His number at the Capitol is 573-751-0665, or you can email him at Mark.Bruns@house.mo.gov.
The family and supporters of Missouri’s condemned men are also stepping up their efforts. The Justice for Reggie Clemons campaign held a press conference to bring attention to Clemon’s 15th year on death row for a murder case wrought with contradictions and injustices. Reggie’s conviction was a deliberate miscarriage of justice with no DNA evidence, no fingerprints, no motive, no prior criminal history, no nothing that would convince an unbiased juror of his guilt. The campaign also criticized the High Court’s ruling to uphold the lethal injection at a time when support of the death penalty is the lowest ever.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens voted with the majority decision while issuing a separate opinion calling for the abolishment of the death penalty as unconstitutional. “State-sanctioned killing,” Stevens said, was “becoming more and more anachronistic.” Translation: It’s out of date for the times.
Lost in the media fray was the release of Glen Edward Chapman, the 128th person to be exonerated from the clutches of the death machine. Chapman, a black man, had served nearly 15 years for two murders that were later questioned as actual murders. A judge acknowledged the prosecution’s misconduct in withholding evidence, the lead detective’s perjury and a host of other familiar elements that often lead to a Chapman and Clemons ending up on death row.
April 2, 1993 was the day Reggie Clemons was convicted of the murder of the Kerry sisters. April 2, 2008 was the day Glen Chapman got his life back. His freedom gives new hope to all those innocent men and who languish in U.S. prisons.