|
|
| Students Get New Trial for Missouri Inmate |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/20/2001 |
|
A group of journalism students got a new trial for a man on death row in Missouri when they uncovered evidence that prosecutors had encouraged another suspect in the case to lie about the severity of his possible sentence. On Aug. 3, U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple ordered Richard Clay retried in a 1994 killing. Missouri will appeal Whipple's ruling, said Scott Holste, Attorney General Jay Nixon's spokesman. The new information was discovered by students in Webster University professor Ed Bishop's journalism class. Clay, 36, was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death in the shooting of Randy Martindale. Prosecutors said Martindale's wife, Stacy, was having an affair with Chuck Sanders, a friend of Clay's, and hired Clay to kill her husband. Clay insisted Martindale was alive when he and Sanders left the Martindale home the day Martindale was killed. At trial, Sanders told jurors he was headed to prison for 10 years for his role in Martindale's death. But Sanders told the students that he knew his plea deal called for just five years behind bars - and that prosecutors urged him to mischaracterize his punishment to make his testimony appear more credible. Sanders eventually got a five-year suspended sentence. The judge wrote the state violated Clay's right to a fair trial by failing to disclose details of Sanders' 'flexible or negotiable' plea deal. Bishop said recently that when he assigned his students to investigate the case, as well as that of a second death row inmate, he did not expect anyone to get a new trial. He even told the students that was not the goal. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think