Freedom for one, death for another

Good news first! Ryan Ferguson was released yesterday after serving nearly 10 years of a 40-year sentence for murder. Ferguson was accused of the beating death of Kent Heitholt. This case, like many other wrongly incarceration cases, was flawed from the beginning. Said Ferguson,“To get arrested and to get charged for a crime you didn’t commit is incredibly easy…but to get out of prison, it takes an army.”

Execution of Joseph Franklin
The execution date for Franklin is November 20. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will hold a vigil on Tuesday, November 19 from 8:00-9:00 pm at St. Xavier Church, Grand and Lindell Blvd. Voice your concerns about the use of the death penalty to Gov. Nixon at 573.751.3222.

Executions Stall as States Seek Different Drugs

From the New York Times:

“In Missouri, the availability of drugs and litigation have slowed the pace of executions. There have been two since 2009.

“We are going to continue to be affected by these pharmaceutical company decisions time and again, unless the death penalty states can find a pharmaceutical product that has some supply stability around it,” said Chris Koster, the attorney general in Missouri, which dropped plans to use the anesthetic propofol after the European Union threatened to limit exports of the drug if it was used in an execution.

The drug shortages and legal wrangling have led some officials to discuss older methods of execution. In July, Mr. Koster suggested that the state might want to bring back the gas chamber. Dustin McDaniel, the attorney general in Arkansas, which has struggled with its lethal-injection protocol, told lawmakers the state’s fallback method of execution was the electric chair.

Mr. Koster and Mr. McDaniel said they were not advocating the use of the gas chamber or the electric chair, but were talking about the possible legal alternatives to an increasingly problematic method for states.”

Executions Stall as States Seek Different Drugs

Campaign Update for Week of October 28

Special Master’s Last Word
The findings of Judge Michael Manners were shared in a previous posting but the short version is that Judge Manners concluded that important evidence was withheld from Reggie’s attorneys at trial. After the release of those findings in Reggie’s case, both his attorneys and the State of Missouri were given the opportunity to respond. The State took exception to the conclusions but Judge Manners stood firm. The case is slowly making its way back to the Missouri Supreme Court. We don’t expect any new developments this year but stay tuned—anything can happen. Judge Manners is now retired.

Reggie Griffin Exonerated
This is good news for Reggie, his family, his supporters and death penalty opponents. After 30 years of wrongful incarceration based upon a wrongful conviction, this is another case of prosecution gone wild. Some of you have already noted that the same prosecutor who argued for the State in the oral arguments for Reggie Clemons is the same as in the Griffin case—Stephen Hawke. Read a bit of Hawke’s response to the court while arguing against the Griffin case in the St. Louis American. This is what justice is up against in Missouri. http://tinyurl.com/mxen9xw

Missouri Schedules Execution
There was a lot of drama in the last couple of months due to the impending executions and the State’s desire to use propofol as the lethal injection drug. International pressure as well as pressure from medical associations forced the state of Missouri to abandon propofol as its drug of choice; Missouri would’ve have been the first state to use the drug in an execution. The state will now use pentobarbital as its singular drug as it moves to execute Joseph Franklin on November 20. We will keep you posted.

Reggie's birthday pics

The Justice for Reggie Campaign would like to thiank all those who made Reggie’s 42nd birthday very special. For those unable to attend, check out the photos on Facebook.

Campaign update for August 12

The Judge’s findings
By now, you know that Judge Manners submitted his findings to the Supreme Court of Missuori before retiring from the bench and going into private practice. The J4R Campaign statement was sent to you last week.

Reggie’s birthday
Please mark your calendar for Reggie’s 42nd birthday celebration. Because of all the 50th commemorative activities for the March on Washington and the Jefferson Bank Protest, we will celebrate Reggie’s birthday on September 28 (his actual birthday is August 30). This is also an opportunity for Reggie’s parents and the Justice for Reggie Campaign to thank those who’ve shared this journey with us.

Upcoming executions
The Supreme Court of Missouri set an October 23 date for the execution of Allen Nicklasson and a November 20 date for the execution of Joseph Franklin. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has been putting pressure on the state court for execution dates even threatening to resort to the use of the gas chambers if executions continued to be stalled. You will recall there have been legal objections to the unknown effects of propofol as the current drug of choice for the state’s lethal injection. We’ll keep you updated on any developments.

Judge issues report and recommendation in Reggie Clemons case

Judge Michael Manners, the Special Master assigned by the Supreme Court of Missouri to review the case of Reggie Clemons, issued his findings today to the state’s high court. Clemons is on death row, convicted of the murders of Robin and Julie Kerry in the Chain of Rocks Bridge case. Over the last four years, Judge Manners had the arduous task of reviewing thousands of pages of court transcripts, videotapes and exhibits spanning three trials and the lives of seven young people. His findings are not rulings but guidance to the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Judge Manners determined that certain evidence was suppressed in violation of Reggie’s constitutional right to due process, a finding that would require a new trial. Judge Manners also concluded that Reggie’s statement to the police was coerced. The Supreme Court of Missouri must now rule in the case.

This is yet another phase in the journey for justice in Reggie’s case. Supporters have waged a 22 year struggle to bring the case from out of the judicial shadows into the light.

Says Reggie’s mother, Vera Thomas, “This was such a derailment of due process from the very beginning so I thank the community for all their efforts that has brought us this far. I am grateful to the Missouri Supreme Court for giving us this opportunity to open up this case and for the special efforts of Judge Michael Manners in reviewing the case. I’m also appreciative of Reggie’s phenomenal legal team who has been on this case many years.”

“The wheels of justice are still turning, ”said Thomas, “but there are no winners in a death penalty case.”

Campaign update for week of July 8

Still no news from Kansas City; Judge Michael Manners is still at work on Reggie’s case.

Missouri Executions
Let’s also keep our ears and yes open to the threats of MO Attorney General Chris Koster. The State’s three remaining batches of lethal injection drugs are approaching their expiration dates, the oldest quantity expires in October, the next batch expires in May 2014, and the newest supply expires in 2015. Koster is anxious to carry out the executions of Joseph Paul Franklin and Allen Nicklasson before the drugs expire. Koster has threatened to bring back the gas chamber as a political pressure ploy directed at the Missouri State Court to cough up execution dates.

Call or Facebook AG Koster and let him know we want Missouri to move forward on the death penalty not be dragged back to the dark ages of gassing people to death.

Attorney General Chris Koster
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High St.
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: 573-751-3321

About the Case

Reggie Clemons is an African-American man sentenced to death in Missouri after an unfair trial biased in favor of execution.

Reggie was sentenced to death for the 1991 murders of Robin and Julie Kerry, who drowned after plunging from the Chain of Rocks Bridge into the Mississippi River. At the time of his arrest, Reggie was a 19 year-old with no criminal history. He was among a group of four young men (ranging from ages 15 to 23 years) who encountered the Kerry sisters and their cousin, Thomas Cummins (all white), on the bridge. Cummins first confessed to the crime and was immediately charged. The spotlight soon shifted to the three African-Americans and the nightmare began. After exhausting all legal remedies, Reggie received an execution date for June 17, 2009. The Missouri Supreme Court appointed a special master to hear evidence in the case, and the hearing was held from September 17 - 20, 2012.

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Campaign update for week of May 20

Imminent Decision by Special Master
Judge Michael Manners announced at the March oral arguments that he’d make his recommendations to the Missouri Supreme Court on or by June 1, 2013. That’s next week so the Campaign is poised to hold a press conference as well as get the news out to supporters as quickly as possible. We will email you but we also ask that you help us get the word out via social media: Post and re-post on Facebook, tweet and re-tweet on Twitter and please do text your contacts.

Webby Awards Nominee
Kudos to Ed Pilkington from The Guardian-UK. Ed was recently nominated for a Webby Award for his series on Reggie’s case, Death Penalty on Trial. Although he didn’t get the award, his extensive coverage of Reggie’s case has given it international attention.

Death Penalty News
Our sources tell us that none of the death penalty bills were passed in the Missouri legislative session. The good news is that Maryland became the 18th state to abolish the death penalty.

NYTimes.com: In Many Capital Cases, Less Culpable Defendants Receive Death Penalty

NYTimes.com: In Many Capital Cases, Less Culpable Defendants Receive Death Penalty

Campaign update for week of March 25

Oral Arguments
On March 18th, oral arguments were held by Judge Michael Manners in his Jackson County court room. Two major items came out of last week’s oral arguments that we didn’t learn during the September 2012 hearings. One is a new witness whose testimony was presented; the other is a date has been targeted by Judge Manners for getting his recommendations in to the Missouri Supreme Court.

Excerpts from a video-taped deposition with Warren Weeks were presented as new evidence to Judge Manners by Reggie’s legal team. Weeks contacted the team after he read about the special hearing. In 1991 Weeks was a bail investigator who interviewed Reggie just hours after his interrogation by the St. Louis police in which a forced confession had been beaten out of Reggie. Weeks testified that he observed a large bump about the size of a golf ball on Reggie’s face and included that observation in his written report. The report obtained by Reggie’s attorneys had been altered (just as the police report had been) to remove the reference to the injury. In his testimony, Weeks said that Moss tried to get him to change his mind about the injury he saw, challenging his ability to know what an injury was. Weeks recalled telling his wife later that evening that he felt something strange was going on with the case by the way the prosecution was proceeding. Weeks was steadfast in his recollection. He was never interviewed by Internal Affairs nor was his statement ever disclosed to Reggie’s original attorneys. This testimony is an extremely important piece of corroborating evidence that Reggie was indeed beaten by police.

Judge Manners was reluctant during oral arguments (as he was at the hearing) to include proportionality in his review as he stated that MO Supreme Court will make its own determination on this issue. Proportionality in death penalty cases means that the sentence must fit the crime and in Reggie’s case, the evidence against him for the crime he was convicted is weak.

Judge Manners will ultimately make a recommendation in the case, which could include a recommendation that Reggie stay on death row, be granted a new trial or have his sentence commuted to life without parole. The judge stated several times during the evidentiary process that this case is complicated and that there is a voluminous amount of information to review. The judge will continue his review and may ask either side for particular documents in the coming weeks. He hopes to send his recommendations to the Missouri Supreme Court by June 1.

Campaign update for week of March 11

Oral Arguments
As a continuation of Judge Michael Manner’s evidentiary review, he will listen to oral arguments on Monday, March 18 at the Jackson County Courthouse in Independence, MO. Because the court is on the other side of the state, the Justice for Reggie Campaign will not do a major mobilization. We will definitely give you a report-back.

Campaign Update for Week of February 11, 2013

There will be two sessions next week for supporters to volunteer their time. On Monday and Wednesday (February 18 & 20) from 4-8 pm each day, the Campaign appreciates your assistance in sorting the hundreds of cards to Reggie from the AI Write-a-Thon and completing other tasks. The sessions will be held at the Rowan Community Center, 1401 Rowan Avenue (63112).

Let us know if you can volunteer on either day and for how long by Friday, February 15 by emailing justiceforreggie at yahoo dot com. Thanks.

Campaign update for week of January 14, 2013

MLK March in Downtown St. Louis
The Campaign is asking supporters to join us as we participate in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King March. Dr. King was a staunch opponent of the death penalty and a drum major for justice and equality. We will assemble at the Old Courthouse at 10 am. Look for Reggie’s banner.