Barring any other misfortune, it looks like Missouri death row inmate Reginald Clemons will live at least one full year past his original execution date of June 17, 2009 – and the ultimate disposition of his case now appears to be wide open.
On Friday, August 21, the special master appointed to review the Clemons case by the Missouri Supreme Court issued a Case Management Plan and Order, to which he said Clemons’ attorneys and counsel for the State of Missouri had agreed.
Judge Michael Manners, special master for the Clemons appeal, outlined a detailed legal process that extends all the way to a hearing on May 10, 2010 in St. Louis. It seems likely that his recommendation to the Missouri Supreme Court and any judgment the court might make as a result will extend past the one-year anniversary of Clemons’ previously scheduled execution date.
Judges weighing cases typically do not discuss them with the media, and the Missouri Supreme Court has not explained its startling reversal between Monday, May 18 (when it set Clemons’ execution date) and Tuesday, June 30, when it shockingly appointed Manners as special master – which opened a new evidence phase for a case that had been stalled in appeals since 1993.
Clemons and his family have credited community pressure, spearheaded by activist Jamala Rogers and the family itself, and documentary reporting on the facts of the case by The St. Louis American as influencing the court’s decision to, in effect, reopen an investigation into the 1991 deaths of Robin Kerry and Julie Kerry.
Clemons was one of three codefendants convicted of their murders as an accomplice, and sentenced to death. One codefendant, Marlin Gray, was executed in 2005; another, Antonio Richardson, is serving life in prison without parole after his death sentence was commuted. A fourth codefendant, Daniel Winfrey – the only one who was not black – testified against the others in a plea bargain and was released on parole in 2007.
Clemons’ counsel at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (New York) also filed a new, persuasive Writ of Habeas Corpus arguing that the case deserves to be reconsidered in light of new evidence, which most immediately prompted the order for the special master – an unusual legal move that opens a death row case at the appeals stage to the presentation of new evidence.
Manners’ case plan provides for a discovery period for new evidence that extends through December 31, 2009, including provisions for third-party subpoenas, which is certain to enrich the trial record far beyond what Clemons’ original trial counsel succeeded in producing.
Clemons’ counsel for his jury trial was a couple going through a bitter divorce. The attorney responsible for preparing witnesses moved to California during the phase of witness preparation, and the attorney who argued his case was subsequently debarred.
Manners’ case plan also provides for fact depositions commencing on November 2, expert reports due on November 16, and a host of legal options dated for December 1: expert rebuttal reports due, expert depositions noticed to commence, and requests for admissions served.
Clemons’ opening brief is due February 1, 2010, the State’s opposition brief is due on March 15, 2010 and Clemons’ reply brief is due on April 15, 2010, with the hearing in St. Louis following on May 10, 2010.
Further, “All dates set forth herein may be extended, upon order of the Court, for good cause shown,” Manners noted in his order.
In an interview from Missouri death row, Clemons told The American, “I am glad the judge plans to take his time to review everything in the case and give close scrutiny to it. This is an opportunity to have things considered that weren’t put before the jury at trial.”
Clemons’ family and supporters are preparing for a Celebration of Life event to observe Clemons’ 38th birthday 4-6 p.m. Sunday, August 30 at the ACLU office, 454 N. Whittier. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 314-367-5959 or email justice4reggie@yahoo.com
Clemons’ mother, Vera Thomas, said the timeline laid out by the special master will make this birthday celebration for her incarcerated son a little more sweet.
“The clock has slowed down ticking. We definitely have room on the clock,” Thomas told The American.
“It’s certainly a big leap from June 17 execution date, hearing this timeline. Perhaps the wheels of due process are starting to turn, and I feel it gives us an opportunity we have not had before.”