Facing Execution
Reggie Clemons was sentenced to death in St. Louis as an accomplice to a 1991 murder of two young white women. There was no physical evidence and since allegations have arisen of police coercion, prosecutorial misconduct, and a ‘stacked’ jury in the Clemons case. Despite so many lingering questions, Missouri is still planning to execute Reggie Clemons.
Two other black youths were also convicted in the murder of Julie and Robin Kerry, including Marlin Gray (executed in 2005). Clemons has consistently maintained his innocence. His case illustrates many of the flaws in the U.S. death penalty system.
Shortly after a 2009 execution date was stayed, the Missouri Supreme Court assigned a judge (a "Special Master") to investigate the reliability of his conviction and proportionality of his sentence. Amnesty International urges the state of Missouri to recognize the serious problems with Reggie Clemons' case and to commute his death sentence.
