On Friday, June 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit granted an “indefinite stay of execution” for Missouri death row inmate Reginald Clemons.
Clemons, who had been scheduled for execution on June 17 by the Missouri Supreme Court, had petitioned a stay from the federal bench because he has an appeal pending in the 8th Circuit.
He is party to a consolidated appeal that argues that, because of its history of hiring incompetent execution staff, the Missouri Department of Corrections is likely to violate Clemons’ constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment in putting him to death by legal injection.
Michael Gans, clerk for the 8th Circuit, told The American the stay had been granted to give the bench time to rule on the appeal.
“In issuing its stay of the execution of Reginald Clemons, we believe the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals indicated a need for additional time to complete its written opinion regarding the manner in which executions are carried out in our state,” the Attorney General’s spokesperson told The American.
“We anticipate the Court intends to hand down its opinion within the very near future.”
Though the delay is procedural, Clemons’ mother said the stay of execution was a relief.
“We could still be facing the 17th today on a countdown, as we were previously,” Vera Thomas told The American.
Before the stay was granted by the federal bench, Clemons’ parents attempted to deliver a letter to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on Thursday.
“I am writing to ask you to spare my son’s life,” Thomas wrote in the letter to Nixon, which is available in its entirety on stlamerican.com.
“I fear that if Reggie is executed, I not only will have personally lost my son, but the people of Missouri will have lost as well.”
Thomas reminded Nixon of the ineffective nature of Clemons’ original trial counsel. As his current legal team at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York has often pointed out, Clemons’ appeal process has been hamstrung by catastrophic failures in admitting evidence or objecting to prosecutorial misconduct in his 1993 jury trial, which resulted in his death sentence.
And Clemons’ family paid for his ineffective defense, since prosecutor Nels C. Moss separated the prosecutions of the four codefendants, and one of them – Antonio Richardson – secured representation from the public defender first. The public defender’s office then declined to represent Clemons, claiming a conflict of interest.
“We maxed out our credit cards to hire lawyers that we believed to be credible. The lawyers that we found were a husband and wife team who, unbeknownst to us, were in the middle of a divorce right before my son’s trial,” Thomas wrote to the governor.
“One of the lawyers then moved to California, virtually abandoning the case. Her husband was no better prepared than she, and he has since developed a long disciplinary record. During the penalty phase of the trial, his lawyers even asked that I prepare questions for the witnesses, despite the fact that I have no experience in legal matters.”
Robert Constantinou, who argued Clemons’ case, was subsequently debarred.
“Watching them represent my son horrified me, I felt powerless to protect him,” Thomas wrote to Nixon.
Clemency for Clemons?
As governor, Nixon now has the power to spare Clemons’ life by granting clemency. However, as Missouri attorney general, Nixon had urged the Missouri Supreme Court to set Clemons’ execution date.
Thomas also urged Nixon to grant clemency based on Moss’ prosecutorial misconduct, reminding the governor that Moss “was held in criminal contempt and fined for this behavior” by the trial court.
Clemons’ mother also argued that her son was denied due process in jury selection.
“My son was tried by a jury of 12, with only two African Americans, after almost all prospective African Americans were removed, something two federal judges later agreed was unconstitutional,” she wrote to Nixon.
She also reminded the governor of the extreme racial disparities in sentencing for the four codefendants.
“There were three other co-defendants in my son’s case: two black, one white,” Thomas wrote to Nixon.
“All three African-American young men were sentenced to death, while the one white defendant was offered a deal by the state. He is now out of prison.”
In the end, Thomas delivered the letter to two of Nixon’s senior staffers. “They told me he was in St. Louis, but they did sit there and listen,” Thomas told The American.
A spokesman for Nixon said her letter had been delivered to the governor and “will be included in the review of this matter.” He added, “When the clemency petition from Reginald Clemons is received, it will undergo a full and impartial review. Only after that review is completed will the Governor make a decision on clemency.”
‘Not a celebrity act’
Clemons’ parents traveled to Jefferson City to meet with the governor on Thursday after receiving a longtime friend and supporter of clemency for Reginald Clemons: actor-activist Danny Glover.
“This was not just a celebrity act,” Thomas said of Glover. “He has been following the case closely.”
Glover spoke with Clemons by phone before a room full of Clemons’ supporters Wednesday evening at Kennerly Temple Church of God in Christ, where Bishop R.J. Ward is pastor. Glover told Clemons he is confident he will be set free once his story is told in the mainstream media and in a fair court setting.
It was Glover’s third appearance in St. Louis on behalf of the Justice for Reggie campaign. Thomas said Glover was briefly between films and arrived from overseas before departing for another overseas shoot.
“We have to rededicate ourselves and use our resources and energy as if this is the first time we heard about this,” Glover urged supporters.
“When we free him, we free ourselves – we’re fighting for our grandsons and daughters,” Glover said, noting that a photo of Clemons looked remarkably like his own grandson.
Talking on the phone as supporters listened, Glover asked Clemons what people could do to help.
“Write the governor,” Clemons said. “Tell him to give me a new trial.”
Telling Clemons and supporters that he had never played a role like this, Glover asked Clemons what he does to keep his spirits up.
“I know I don’t deserve to be here; I think about my family every day,” Clemons said.
“I can’t give up if I know I’m innocent in my heart and my spirit and soul.”
– This story was compiled from reports that appeared over the weekend on stlamerican.com, which has regular updates on the Reginald Clemons story.
