Ex-Missouri death row inmate re-sentenced to life in prison
ST. LOUIS — After maintaining his innocence for more than a quarter of a century, Reginald Clemons admitted Monday that he took part in the rape and killing of two sisters who were pushed from an abandoned St. Louis bridge into the Mississippi River.
Clemons spent 22 years on death row before the Missouri Supreme Court threw out the conviction in 2015 after finding that prosecutors suppressed evidence that police had beaten a confession out of him. His case drew support from prisoners’ rights organizations and legal groups.
But on Monday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of rape and one count of first-degree robbery. Under a plea agreement, Clemons, 46, was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences.
Asked by Circuit Judge Rex Burlison if the allegations against him were true, Clemons replied “Yes, your honour,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.