Hands Off Cain

A federal judge ordered a new trial for Missouri death...

A federal judge ordered a new trial for Missouri death row inmate Richard D

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A federal judge ordered a new trial for Missouri death row inmate Richard D. Clay after a journalism class at Webster University helped discover that prosecutors had allowed a key witness to mislead jurors. Clay was convicted for the 1995 murder of Randy Martindale. A co-defendant testified against Clay and told the jury that he was going to be sentenced to 10 years as part of a plea agreement. Later, during an interview with the journalism students, the co-defendant explained that he knew his plea deal called for a maximum sentence of just five years behind bars (he eventually received a suspended sentence) and that prosecutors urged him to mischaracterize his punishment to make his testimony appear more credible.
SOURCES
  • (Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Associated Press. 09/08/2001)