Opinion ID: 3157592
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: “Cummins Did It” – the (Nearly) Final Refrain

Text: At trial, Clemons (like Gray, who was tried and convicted before Clemons) relied heavily on a defense theory that attempted to portray Cummins as the sole perpetrator of these crimes. The cornerstone of this theory was that, within hours of swimming to shore and hailing police, Cummins supposedly “confessed” that he – alone – was responsible for the deaths of his cousins on the bridge that night. The two audiotaped statements that Cummins gave to the police within hours of the incident, however, contain no hint of this “confession.” Instead, the Master concluded that – among all those who testified about the events on the bridge on April 5, 1991 – Cummins was the “most honest man in this forest of deceit.” Report at 91. These two lengthy taped (and transcribed) statements, like Cummins’ trial testimony, “gave an account that was internally consistent in all major details through several iterations and which was borne out by the independent testimony of Daniel Winfrey, who was hardly his friend.” Report at 91. In contrast, not only was Cummins’ supposed “confession” not recorded, but Cummins also has consistently and vehemently denied that he ever made any such inculpatory statements. 3 The only other claim in the 2009 Petition is a claim that Clemons’ death sentences are not proportional in light of the fact that his accomplice Antonio Richardson’s death sentences were commuted. Clemons previously raised this claim in this Court, and the Court rejected it on the merits. See Clemons v. Roper, Case No. SC89534 (Mo. banc 2008). 10 Having built his defense on the theory that Cummins was the “real” killer, it is not obvious how Clemons’ “new evidence” (which he claims proves that Cummins’ supposed “confession” resulted solely from police abuse) constitutes clear and convincing proof that Clemons did not rape and murder Julie and Robin Kerry. Presumably, Clemons is not arguing that statements made under such duress are more reliable than statements freely made. In any event, the Master, demonstrating a commanding knowledge of the record, made short work of Clemons’ freestanding claim of actual innocence: Of course, if newly discovered evidence would make it more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted Clemons because Cummins was the perpetrator, that dog might hunt, but the truth is, it will not. The time has finally come to drive a stake through the heart of the shibboleth that Thomas Cummins is the murderer responsible for the deaths of the Kerry sisters. Report at 87 (emphasis added). As the Master explained, it was the flashlight Clemons left behind on the bridge that led police to question, in turn, Richardson, Clemons, Gray, and Winfrey. Despite the evolving and self-serving nature of their statements, they collectively corroborated Cummins’ initial recorded statements and erased any possibility that Cummins was the killer. Report at 88. The Master reasoned that, if Cummins was the killer and Clemons et al. were uninvolved, there is no way to explain: (1) why Cummins’ watch would end up in Gray’s possession; (2) why DNA evidence would “show[] conclusively that Gray had sex with at least one of the Kerry sisters” before she fell to her death from the bridge; (3) why Winfrey would plead guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of rape he 11 did not commit; (4) why Richardson’s lawyer would concede to the jury (with no objection from his client, then or ever) that Richardson “should go away to prison for a very long time” for what he did on the bridge that night; and (5) why Clemons, even at this late date, would still refuse to answer questions under oath about his role in the rapes and murders of Julie and Robin Kerry. Report at 88-90. The Master patiently explained to Clemons that, because a claim for habeas relief is a civil case, Clemons had no Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer the questions put to him during the hearing before the Master. As a result, the Master explained to Clemons that, if Clemons persisted in answering some questions and refusing to answer others, the Master would treat Clemons’ refusal to answer as if he had answered in a manner damaging to his claims. Clemons acknowledged that he understood these consequences but, nevertheless, refused to answer the following questions: 4 • Whether Clemons and Gray initially restrained Cummins while Winfrey and Richardson grabbed Julie and Robin Kerry. • Whether Clemons told Cummins, “Don’t move or you'll get shot.” • Whether one of the girls urged the other not to fight as Clemons, Richardson and Gray were raping them. 4 After the Master gave this warning, Clemons (and his lawyers) reconsidered his refusal to answer the following three questions and, instead, answered each of them: “No.” Q: And then you and Tony [Richardson] made those three people – Tom [Cummins]. Robin and Julie – get down one level lower, down on the bridge supports, didn’t you? Q: Isn’t it true that you stood on that platform by the manhole and you blocked their escape so there was nowhere that they could go? Q: Those girls couldn’t escape because you were blocking their way, weren’t you? As to the remaining questions, Clemons refused to answer and the Master drew the negative inference he warned Clemons he would draw. Clemons did not object to this inference then, and he does not object to it now. 12 • Whether Clemons raped both girls. • Whether, when they had finished raping the girls, Gray left the bridge. • Whether Clemons heard Richardson say they had to get rid of the girls so they wouldn't leave any witnesses and go to jail, and did not respond. • Whether Clemons watched Richardson put the first girl down the manhole. • Whether Clemons put the second girl down the manhole. • Whether Clemons put Cummins down the manhole. • Whether, once the three victims were on the platform below the bridge deck with Richardson, Clemons told Winfrey to find Gray and bring him back. • Whether Clemons joined Richardson and the three victims on the platform. • Whether Clemons saw Julie and Robin being pushed from the bridge pier into the river. • Whether Clemons heard Cummins being told to jump or he was going to get shot. • Whether Clemons and Richardson then ran back to the Missouri side of the bridge, where they met Gray and Winfrey coming back onto the bridge. • Whether Clemons told Gray and Winfrey, “Let’s go. We threw them off.” • Whether, referring to the three victims, Clemons later told Richardson, Gray, and Winfrey: “They'll never make it to shore.” Report at 90-91 (citing Master’s Hearing at pp. 383-88). The Master’s Report concludes: “I infer from his refusal to answer those questions that, if he were truthful, Clemons’ answers to every one of those questions would have been damaging to him.” Report at 91 (emphasis added). No claim of innocence can survive such admissions.