July 12
MISSOURI:
To: Matt Blunt, Governor of Missouri
Don't execute Marlin Gray!
We are turning to you because we are deeply concerned about Mr. Marlin
Gray, a death row inmate at Potosi Correctional Center / Mineral Point. We
know that you are aware of his case, since you have just recently (March
2005) received the Application for Executive Clemency by his attorney
Joanne Descher. As stated in this clemency writ, there are many unclear
issues surrounding the "Chain of Rocks" case.
The state clearly failed in Marlin Gray's case. All it established was
that Marlin Gray was not present, did not tell anyone to kill, and was
unaware of what others were doing (or even where they were) on an unlit
bridge spanning the Mississippi River.
On the night of April 4th 1991 Thomas Cummins was on the Chain of Rocks
Bridge spanning the Mississippi River, with his two cousins, the sisters
Julie and Robin Kerry. On that evening Julie and Robin Kerry were pushed
off a bridge and drowned.
On the same evening, Marlin Gray (black) was there, too. Along with Marlin
on the bridge were A. Richardson (black) R. Clemons (black) and D. Winfrey
(white).
Allegedly the four of them robbed Cummins and the sisters, raped the
sisters and then pushed the two women off the bridge and ordered Cummins
to jump into the river; who then swam to shore and survived.
The state was not able to prove that Marlin Gray was on the bridge when
the young women were pushed off the bridge.
The only witnesses connecting Marlin Gray to any crime were Daniel
Winfrey, the only white defendant in this case, who had made a deal with
the state; and Thomas Cummins, who was the original suspect. However,
neither of them testified that Marlin Gray killed anyone, directed anyone
to kill, or even knew that any killing would take place.
Matter of fact, the state conceded he was not present at the time the
murders were committed.
The district attorney against Gray was Nels Moss. He had a record of 8
reversals due to misconduct and 17 other findings that he committed
prosecutorial error.
Following his testimony in the trials of Marlin Gray and the two others
charged as the principal actors in the crimes, Cummins filed a civil
lawsuit against the City of St. Louis and the individual police officers
who interrogated him. He claimed the police had beaten him into making a
statement, threatened him, and denied him his right to counsel. The
defendants paid Cummins $150,000.00 in a confidential settlement to
resolve that case.
Marlin Gray was interrogated at the same police station by the same
officers and accused the same police officers of the same kind of beating.
This interrogation led to a coerced confession, in which he admitted to
raping the victims, but not to any role in their murder. This coerced
confession was the only time that Marlin admitted to any guilt.
He filed a complaint within a day of his interrogation, in which he gave a
detailed account of his beating by the same police officers later accused
of interrogating and beating Thomas Cummins. In Marlin's case, however,
there was no $150,000.00 cash payment. He was not even believed.
It is difficult to know what really happened on the bridge that night.
But it is clear, that without Marlins statement, the only evidence against
Marlin Gray would have been that Cummins (who was the original suspect and
gave several conflicting accounts to the police) believed Gray put him on
the ground and told him this was a robbery, and Winfrey, a co-defendant
with inherent credibility problems due to his plea agreement with the
state, testified Gray raped one of the victims and then left the bridge.
And it is clear that the police used force to get testimony from Cummins
and Gray.
Under these circumstances, Marlin Gray shouldn't have been convicted for
first degree murder and sentenced to death.
A coerced confession and testimonies from witnesses with credibility
problems is certainly not enough to reach a conviction for capital murder.
There are many open questions in this case that need to be properly
investigated and taken into consideration before coming to an ultimate
judgment of what really happened.
We, the undersigned, are asking you to comply with the attorney J.
Descher's Application for Executive Clemency, for contemplation of the
fact that only Cummins was granted recognition of the police brutality at
his interrogation and for thorough investigation of all the facts to get a
coherent picture of the events of that night.
Sincerely,
Name City/Country Signature
