Missouri death row inmate Reginal Clemons said he could “only half sleep” last week after hearing from his lawyers that there would be an opportunity to present new evidence in his case.
In a shocking turn of events, on Tuesday, June 30 the Missouri Supreme Court appointed Jackson County Circuit Judge Michael W. Manners to serve as a special master in the case – a kind of independent adjunct judge with subpoena power.
This startling appointment opened the way for the presentation of new evidence, which Clemons has been clamoring for since he was sentenced to death in 1993.
Clemons was convicted as an accomplice to the murders of Julie and Robin Kerry on April 4, 1991, though no forensic evidence was produced. Of the State’s two key witnesses, one accepted a plea bargain for his testimony and the other had confessed and received a reported $150,000 settlement for a police brutality suit he filed on the day Clemons was sentenced to death.
Even Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster acknowledged that Clemons’ case raises “concerns” and said he welcomed the new evidence phase.
“For many years, there have been concerns voiced in the community surrounding the 1991 homicides at the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Because of the seriousness of the crimes and punishment at issue, I welcome Judge Stith’s decision to appoint a special master in this case,” Koster said.
“It is critical that our legal system is perceived as fair and just, and I trust that a review by a special master will ultimately support that end.”
However, Koster also acknowledged his statutory responsibility “to act as the State’s attorney in these proceedings and to lawyer on behalf of the State and the two girls who lost their lives that night.”
Clemons – who claims innocence – greeted the surprising news by thanking the community for pressuring authorities and The St. Louis American for reporting on the documentary evidence of his trial to inform the community of the facts.
“Keep pushing,” Clemons said. “Your effort is what’s making things happen.”
Clay: ‘courageous decision’
U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay has been the most prominent person pressing for a new and thorough review of Clemons’ case. He commended the Missouri Supreme Court for making what he described as a “courageous decision.”
“The full facts have never been presented under oath, and there is a very real possibility that crucial evidence has been suppressed,” Clay said of the Clemons case.
“I urge Judge Manners to take whatever time is required to fully investigate all circumstances, with new evidence and additional witnesses that will lead to the whole truth in the best interests of justice for Julie and Robin Kerry and Reginald Clemons.”
State Senator Jeff Smith – rare among non-black elected officials to speak out for Clemons – sees this development as grounds for hope.
“This is an extraordinarily unusual procedure which suggests that the Supreme Court appreciates the degree to which the ineptitude of Mr. Clemons’ original defense attorneys has hamstrung Mr. Clemons’ subsequent attempts for justice,” Smith said.
Clemons was denied a public defender in his jury trial because the four codefendants in the case were prosecuted separately. When Antonio Richardson went to trial first and obtained a public defender, it created a conflict of interest for the other codefendants since prosecutor Nels C. Moss attempted to turn all of the codefendants against one another.
Robert Constantinou, who argued Clemons’ case, failed to call key witnesses and said he grew weary of raising objections because the trial judge kept overruling him. He was subsequently debarred.
Since appeals courts are limited to the trial record and objections raised during trial, the expert, New York-based social justice legal firm that attempted to come to Clemons’ rescue has been limited in their attempts to get his sentence commuted or his conviction overturned.
The appointment of Manners as special master with subpoena power could change that.
“Although the Court is not bound to accept any recommendation that Judge Manners may issue, the wide latitude Judge Manners has to summon witnesses and even evaluate new evidence not considered by the original trial jury seems to indicate that the Court is not completely convinced of Mr. Clemons’ guilt,” Smith said.
“And since this Supreme Court is almost entirely (with the sole exception of Chief Justice Price) different from the one that accepted the lower court’s verdict years ago, the opportunity exists for a fresh set of eyes to truly take a fresh look at the troubling circumstances behind Mr. Clemons’ sentence.”
Alderman Terry Kennedy is both an advocate for Clemons and a critic of the unconstitutional methods of interrogation that Clemons immediately claimed were used to coerce his confession to rape (but not murder).
“This case merits additional investigation,” Kennedy said.
“I hope Judge Manners calls new witnesses and subpoenas information that in my opinion was suppressed in the initial trials.”
Clemons’ writ of habeas corpus that currently is pending before the Missouri Supreme Court asks that his sentence be commuted or his conviction overturned precisely because there is evidence the Court has not considered that casts reasonable doubt on his conviction.
‘God makes the difference’
Ultimately, Clemons himself placed credit for this amazing new opportunity with a higher authority.
“God makes the difference,” Clemons said.
“When God makes the difference, you see nothing logical, nothing expected – everything is unexpected. The appointment of this special master – that is unexpected. Especially coming from the Missouri Supreme Court, which established my execution date in the first place.”
Clemons was sentenced to die on June 17 when a federal stay of execution gave the state’s highest court time to make this apparent reversal of thinking on his case.
Clemons sees critical significance in the fact that the judge appointed to gather new evidence is not from St. Louis, where his case was investigated and prosecuted.
“I think it’s important that they appointed a judge from Kansas City,” Clemons said.
“I think it shows the Supreme Court realizes there might be bias in the St. Louis political arena regarding this case.”
After Clemons’ initial interrogation by St. Louis Metropolitan Police detectives, Judge Michael David ordered him taken to an emergency room because he was visibly injured. When released from the hospital, Clemons filed his own claim of police brutality. He claimed that detectives Chris Pappas and Thomas Brauer denied him counsel and beat him into giving a rehearsed confession of rape.
Clemons never has been prosecuted for rape, though he has formally asked to be, and he never confessed to murder. His allegedly coerced and rehearsed confession to rape was used against him in the sentencing phase, which resulted in the death sentence.
“I think God is using me in this situation to bring about divine justice,” Clemons said.
“Divine justice is something beyond my understanding, so I have to have faith.”