Reginald Clemons, who spent 22 years on death row, will now spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in the Chain of Rocks double murder case. He pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of rape and one count of first-degree robbery in the 1991 killing of sisters Julie Kerry, 20, and Robin Kerry, 19.
The sisters were raped and pushed to their deaths from the Chain of Rocks Bridge by a group of young men, including Clemons. Their cousin Thomas Cummins was also pushed from the bridge, but survived the fall.
In a 1993 jury trial, Clemons was convicted of first-degree murder for the deaths of the Kerry sisters. He was charged with rape, and though the rape charges were never tried, they were used as a sentence enhancer when prosecutor Nels Moss sought – and won – the death penalty.
Following the appointment of a special master, Judge Michael Manners, and his report, the Missouri Supreme Court vacated the conviction on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 after saying that prosecutors didn’t turn over evidence that Clemons’ confession was violently coerced.
Judge Masters gave the circuit attorney 60 days in which to file new charges. Then St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer M. Joyce announced in January of this year that Clemons would stand trial again for the murders – and that it would remain a death penalty case.
By pleading guilty, Clemons escapes the death penalty – but he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
In the plea deal, Clemons does not admit to being the one who pushed the sisters from the bridge. But he did say that he “did nothing to physically prevent the girls from being pushed into the river and stayed at the manhole preventing their escape.”
Clemons was one of four co-defendants in the case. Marlin Gray was executed in 2005. Antonio Richardson had his sentence commuted to life without parole. The fourth defendant, Daniel Winfrey, was 15 at the time of the crimes. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, rape and armed robbery in September 1992, and was sentenced to no more than 30 years in prison in exchange for his testimony. He was paroled in June 2007, but had his parole revoked in 2011. Winfrey is currently incarcerated at the Farmington Correctional Facility.
Information from St. Louis Public Radio contributed to this report.
