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Title: Marlin Gray, Dead Rapist and Murderer
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Published: Apr 21, 2009
Author: Wikipedia
Post Date: 2009-04-21 21:39:21 by Turtle
Keywords: None
Views: 931
Comments: 26
Marlin A. Gray (September 29, 1967 – October 26, 2005) was convicted of murder and executed by the U.S. state of Missouri by lethal injection. His conviction was for being part of a group of four men who, on April 4, 1991, sexually assaulted and then murdered two sisters, and attempted to murder the sisters' cousin on the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. Gray continued to protest his innocence saying that although he was at the bridge at the time, he was smoking cannabis in a nearby car. On December 9, 1992, Gray was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and was executed by lethal injection on October 26, 2005. He maintained his innocence to the end, although police showed on audio and video tape that he had recounted the entire event to them, admitting his part in the murders.[citation needed] The events of April 4, 1991 On the night of April 4, 20-year-old Julie Kerry, 19-year-old Robin Kerry and their 19-year-old cousin, Thomas Cummins, were on the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River. Gray, Antonio Richardson, Reginald Clemons, and Daniel Winfrey went to the bridge that night together. The two groups, who did not know each other, had a brief conversation. Gray showed the other group how to climb down a manhole cover on the bridge down to the pier. Then the two groups separated. The prosecution's allegations According to testimony offered on behalf of the prosecution, several minutes later the group of four men decided to rob the three, with Winfrey testifying that Gray said he "felt like hurting somebody." They returned and Gray told Cummins that "This is a robbery. Get down on the ground." The two girls were grabbed and held on the ground. Richardson held Julie down while Clemons raped her and then the two swapped position. Gray and Clemons then took turns to rape Robin and Julie. Cummins was then robbed of his wallet, wristwatch, cash, and keys, and the three victims were forced down the manhole cover to the concrete pier. The two Kerrys then were pushed and Cummins jumped as instructed. Medical witnesses testified that Cummins and Julie Kerry survived the 70 feet (21 m) fall to the water below. Cummins testified that after surfacing, the current pulled him over to Julie, but then she drifted off after he began to drown. Cummins swam to shore and survived. The body of Julie Kerry was found three weeks later near Caruthersville, Missouri, and the body of Robin Kerry never has been found. When apprehended by police, Gray had Cummins' engraved watch in his possession; Clemons had Cummins' firefighter's badge and Richardson had left his fingerprints on Cummins' driver license. Gray's version of the events The version of events according to Gray is very different, and changed each time he presented it. In an interview in 2005, he said that after parting from the group of three, Gray went to a car where he smoked marijuana, while Richardson went to retrieve a flashlight (stolen by Richardson from a police officer's residence) he had left on the bridge. Gray returned to the bridge 30 minutes later to find that the girls and their cousin were gone. Richardson said that Cummins had said the girls had slipped off the bridge but thought the authorities would not believe this story. Cummins was then robbed by the men of his belongings. The version given by Gray at his trial was different, and also differs from what police said that he told them in his initial interview. On returning after 30 minutes in the car, Clemons informed him that "Man, I just robbed that guy and threw him and the girls into the river." Gray's mother testified that he was at home all night and never left their residence. Defense claims Both Gray and Cummins, who was initially a suspect, have said that they were physically abused during their interrogations. In the case of Cummins, he eventually would receive a $150,000 settlement from the City of St. Louis. Gray said that he confessed during the interrogations to raping the two girls in order that police stop beating him. Gray's defense lawyers also argued that the prosecutor, Nels Moss, had made allusions to Charles Manson, when he described Gray's character witnesses as similar to "followers of Charles Manson." Moss also did not disclose the settlement with Cummins to the defense. They also argued that it was inappropriate for the prosecutor to tell the jury that theirs was not the final word in the case. Gray's father claims that the conviction and sentence were racially motivated. Trial and appeals Daniel Winfrey, who was 15 years old at the time, confessed to the murder in the presence of police and his parents. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and forcible rape and testified against the other three in their trials. He was sentenced to a 30-year sentence. He testified that Clemons and Richardson were the ones who had pushed the two girls. Winfrey was the only white member of the convicted group, which has been raised as a criticism since he was the main prosecution witness[1] Winfrey received a parole in the summer of 2007; when released, he had served 15 years. For his part, Clemons was sentenced to death and still is on death row. Richardson was also given a death sentence but had his sentence commuted to life in prison by the Supreme Court of Missouri on October 28, 2003, which cited his sentencing by a judge rather than a jury, in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey, a case which was decided long after the imposition of sentence. Richardson had been the focus of strenuous efforts by death penalty opponents due to his mental deficiencies (an IQ of 75, while mental retardation is classified as an IQ of 40 or less) and youth at the time of the murders, even though his own psychologist and his mother testified that he "know(s) the difference between right and wrong." In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that executions of persons who committed their crimes as juveniles were unconstitutional. Gray's execution date was set by the Missouri Supreme Court on September 26, 2005. Governor Matt Blunt denied Gray clemency on October 25 after a recommendation by the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole not to do so. That same day, the Supreme Court of the United States denied his motions to stay his execution. Gray asked that no member of his family witness the execution, which he described as "murder," although a female cousin and a minister were present. The only witness for the victims present at the execution was Kevin Cummins, the uncle of the two girls. Gray also made no last meal request and gave no instructions for the disposal of his body. His final statement: "I go forward now on wings built by the love and support of my family and friends. I go with a peace of mind that comes from never having taken a human life. I forgive those who have hardened their hearts to the truth and I pray they ask forgiveness, for they know not what they do. This is not a death, it is a lynching."
Poster Comment: I have been on the Chain of Rocks many times as a teenager, partying with several hundred people. I can even remember going over it as a little kid. I once met the girls' mother, and embarrassed myself terribly by asking her who were the two girls in the pictures on her desk. She explained what happened, and I could have crawled into a hole. At least one of the scum was executed. The other two will be in prison the rest of their lives, and the one white boy, who was 15 at the time, was released some time ago.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 14.
#1. To: Turtle (#0)
Upon sentence, Marlin Gray should have been marched from the judges chambers to the gallows. Repeat procedure as needed.
Thank goodness the law doesn't listen to people like you. Wonder how many innocents would have been executed.
Gray was found guilty, but lets push that off to the side for a moment. How do you feel about my sentence to gallows method for guys like Richard Allen Davis (above) and other scum balls who willingly confess to their crime (s)?
I lived down the street from a person that was found guilty and sat on death row for almost 5 years before he got a new trial. At the second trial the two police detectives who investigated and worked the case admitted they were pressured by the prosecuting atty to perjure themselves. In the second trial some of the evidence that had been "misplaced" during the first trial was introduced into court and after looking at these things and learning that the police perjured themselves he was easily found not guilty in less than an hour of jury deliberation. What was really screwed was I saw him talking to a neighbor about 5 minutes before the murder was committed and he would have had to travel appx 30 miles in less than 5 minutes, break into a house, commit the murder and then leave. The prosecution was able to keep me from testifying in the first trial about my seeing him. The answer to your question above is NO! Why Innocent People ConfessIt's not a breakdown of American justice. It's American justice working as designed. Civil Rights: Why Innocent Teens Confess To Crimes They Didn’t Commit 74.125.95.132/search?q=ca...&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us www.truthinjustice.org/innocent-confess.htm dangerousintersection.org...erson-confess-to-a-crime/
So rather than simply say we disagree over the death penalty, you chose a pussy, back door way to argue your point. This guy Davis? I'd have let the girl's dad crack him in the head with a baseball bat until it disappeared, and anyone else with a fully functional brain probably feels the same. Peace.
That you for admitting you can't counter my argument.
Counter what, a belief system? I'd have respected you had you simply said you opposed the death penalty - no explanation necessary. Instead, you chose a specious argument w/o divuldging what was driving it. No, it was a pussy thing to do.
You asked a question and I answered it. Unlike many I am capable and willing to justify my answers. You asked and I gave you the answer and why I am against capital punishment. If you can't deal with it that is your problem, not mine.
You attacked my position w.o divulging your opposition to the death penalty - again, a pussy thing to do.
#15. To: Jethro Tull (#14)
You owe me a keyboard. I was drinking coffee when I read that and started laughing so hard I spit coffee all over it. I "attacked" your position? I answered your question LOL.
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#2. To: Jethro Tull (#1)
#5. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#2)
(Edited)
#8. To: Jethro Tull (#5)
How do you feel about my sentence to gallows method for guys like Richard Allen Davis (above) and other scum balls who willingly confess to their crime (s)?
#9. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#8)
The answer to your question above is NO!
#10. To: Jethro Tull (#9)
you chose a pussy, back door way to argue your point
#12. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#10)
#13. To: Jethro Tull (#12)
#14. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#13)
Replies to Comment # 14. You attacked my position
End Trace Mode for Comment # 14.