Local clergy called out for lack of support
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
Over 100 people packed into Legacy Books and Café Thursday for the official beginning of the community-organized Campaign for Reggie Clemons. Campaign coordinator Jamala Rogers organized the event, which provided those unfamiliar with the Chain of Rocks Bridge case an opportunity to hear from the parents of Clemons, his legal defense team and many supporters.
Clemons was convicted and sentenced to death for his involvement in the events that reportedly led to the deaths of sisters Robin and Julie Kerry in April 1991. Co-defendant Marlin Gray was executed October 26, and now Clemons awaits his fate on death row. With the appeals process at an end, Attorney General Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon petitioned the court in October to set an execution date. Once the date is set, Clemons’ defense will have 30 days to file for clemency.
“In the abstract, the law wants finality. And, in any case, the design of the law is that there has to be a very good reason why you couldn’t have found new evidence in the first place,” attorney John Aenney said. Aenney is part of the legal defense team from New York-based Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett that has represented Clemons pro bono since 1993.
In an effort to find the new evidence needed to have Clemons’ case re-opened, the campaign is reaching out across the community for support. Only a few clergy were peppered throughout the crowd of eager listeners. Clemons’ father, the Rev. Reynold Thomas, pastor of Life Victory Church, said the lack of support from prominent members of the cloth is a source of disappointment, but not surprise.
“I already know that the mainstream clergy of the city are not going to get involved in this. They are politically sold-out. They’ve been bought and paid for, and they dare not make any waves,” the Reverend Thomas said.
“It’s going to take a groundswell of people who are unattached from the government and that don’t have a flow of government money, because once you take government money, the government controls you and you don’t run anything.”
Rogers said the lack of support from clergy and other community members comes from not fully understanding the facts of the case.
“We feel like people got themselves in a situation, and yes, sometimes our young men do, because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time and there are elements around them that they probably should not be hanging out with, but this is not the case. It could be any one of us. Now, it’s Reggie Clemons, two months ago it was Marlin Gray and next year it’s going to be someone else,” Rogers said.
“We found out that Larry Griffin, who was executed in 1995, was possibly wrongfully convicted, and we lose Marlin Gray, who’s one of the co-defendants. We say ‘enough already’ of the injustice and of the arbitrary nature of the criminal justice – or criminal injustice system. We have to tell the story. We have to cut through the misinformation and poisonous lies that have been created, particularly by the Post-Dispatch.”
To disseminate the facts, organizers have started a grassroots effort, including an outreach to the local hip-hop community and young black males. Plans for events such as an MC rap battle, youth essay contest and a conference on black men and the criminal justice system are currently underway.
Clemons’ parents, Reynold and Vera Thomas, are living examples of what can happen to families who become entangled in the criminal justice system without adequate knowledge of their rights or cash to fund skilled legal counsel.
“Whether you’re a proponent of the death penalty or not, no one wants to kill anyone unjustly, to see young men railroaded across the country knowing that 95 percent of the men on death row had little or poor representation in their trials,” the Rev. Thomas said.
“It’s not just happening to young black boys, it’s happening to poor white boys who can’t defend themselves.”
“Jay Nixon petitioned the Supreme Court to set an execution date for Reggie prior to Marlin even being buried. That’s how much of a hurry he’s in to see that they get executed,” Vera Thomas said.
“It’s a political process, and this is something we can stop. We have the power, and we vote. We know who’s coming up for a vote, and we can make a difference.”
ACLU of Eastern Missouri racial justice associate Redditt Hudson, said despite opposing views of capital punishment, the entire community must be involved to insure that justice in the Chain of Rocks Bridge case and many others like it is finally served.
“The facts of this case beg for us to do something about it,” Hudson said. “We all want justice for those girls. Every humane person wants justice for Robin and Julie Kerry. We don’t have it yet.”
For more information about the Campaign for Reggie Clemons, call (314) 367-5959. Local clergy interested in assisting with the campaign should contact pastor Reynold Thomas at (314) 531-2422.