ST. LOUIS, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- A Missouri death row inmate says police officers beat him so badly that he falsely confessed to raping and murdering two sisters in 1991.
While testifying at a special hearing Wednesday, Reginald Clemons, 41, proclaimed his innocence and alleged he confessed to raping, then pushing sisters Julie Kerry, 20, and Robin Kerry, 19, to their deaths in 1991 because he feared for his life, The St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch reported.
Clemons invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination for most other questions.
Prosecutors responded to Clemons' allegations by showing a booking photo from his arrest in which no injuries were evident, and a tape recording of a statement Clemons made with no sounds suggesting threats or violence.
After the hearing, the Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether to change Clemons' death sentence and possibly require a new trial.
