A Mother Speaks: “I Don’t Want To Lose My Son to the Death Penalty”

[Peter Terpstra]

A Mother Speaks: “I Don’t Want To Lose My Son to the Death Penalty”

By Vera Thomas, Reggie Clemons’ Mother

When my son was young, he would say, “When I grow up I want to invent things.” Reggie as a young boy was always a people
person. Almost 30 years later, he sits on death row, and I’m waiting to see whether or not the state of Missouri will take my
son’s life. This is a parent’s worst nightmare.

My son’s name is Reginald Clemons, but we call him Reggie. He has been on Missouri’s death row for 21 years. No mother can
truly imagine that there may come a day where she may have to watch her son take his last breath, listen to his last words and
watch him executed. Last year, Reggie was granted an opportunity where his case would be reviewed by a judge who would
then recommend to the Missouri Supreme Court whether or not my son should live or die. As we await the judge’s
recommendations – expected to be announced by June 1st – I want you to understand a few things about my son, his case and
just how flawed the death penalty system is.

Then I hope you will take action to stop Reggie’s execution and join the movement to abolish the death penalty in the state of
Missouri and beyond.

The state of Missouri charged and convicted my son of killing two young women - pushing them off a bridge into the Mississippi
River in April 1991. The pain the family of these two girls has suffered after such a tragic loss is unimaginable. But from the
beginning, the case against Reggie has been full of blatant problems:

First - My son’s face was so swollen after his interrogation by St. Louis police that the judge arraigning him sent him to the
emergency room. More recently, bail investigator Warren Weeks has come forward stating that he saw the injuries on Reggie’s
face and that he submitted a written report of this observation.

Second - Not one, not two, but four federal judges have agreed that the prosecutor’s conduct during Reggie’s trial was
“abusive and boorish.” This prosecutor compared my son, who at 19 years old never had a criminal record, to two convicted
serial killers.

Third - I wish race weren’t a factor, but it is a fact that the single most reliable predictor of whether someone will be
sentenced to death is the race of the victim. My son is a black man. The two young women who were killed were white. Add
that to the disproportionate dismissal of blacks during jury selection, and you get a perfect storm of racial discrimination.

How can my son be about to lose his life when there is evidence of both prosecutorial misconduct and police brutality involved
with his case? The judicial system is meant to be fair, however many of those who sit on death row are up against a flawed
judicial system where justice for many lives has yet to prevail.

Over the years, many of you have joined our family in advocating against the death penalty, for justice, for what’s right. It’s
kept us strong, even when fighting for so many years against such an unjust system has been tiring.

We must continue. For justice and for Reggie.

Thank you.

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/us/a-mother-speaks-i-dont-want-to-lose-my-son-to-the-death-penalty/

[rst9]

Instead of spending good money to keep these bad people alive, they
should be and must be executed as soon as possible.and as fast as
possible.